This morning, the Associated Press reports that the number of unemployment applications filed last week dropped by 9,000, which is only 1,000 more than the lowest level since June 2008. So while the Labor Department's figures haven't actually hit a five-year low, they're coming pretty close.
A more reliable figure is an average of the last four weeks, which declined 3,000 applications to 328,500, which is the lowest point since October 2007. We aren't in the clear yet, but unemployed friends, there is hope.
[August 2013 career-fair photo via AP]
