New applications for jobless benefits plunged to the lowest level in 14 weeks, a possible sign that the massive wave of layoffs has peaked. Still, the number of unemployed workers getting benefits climbed to a new record. The Labor Department reported today that the number newly laid-off workers applying for benefits dropped to 601,000 last week. That was far better than the rise to 635,000 claims that economists expected. But the total number of people receiving jobless benefits climbed to 6.35 million, a 14th straight record. In a separate report, the government said that productivity, the key ingredient to rising living standards, grew at a 0.8% annual rate in the January-March quarter, slightly better than the 0.6% increase that economists had expected.
New U.S. jobless claims unexpectedly plunge
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