--- description: The number of people filing for unemployment claims dropped to the lowest level in nearly 7 years as the job market shows signs of recovery. title: Jobless Claims Drops to Lowest Since Pre-Recession image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3f1ba68e18912636/698689fe169ab0a122278bb9/employment-united-states.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Economy](/tag/economy/) ## Economy Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Jobless Claims Drop to Lowest Level Since 2007  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 10, 2014 1:16 PM CUT  Construction worker installs storm water drain pipes at a hydrolysis wastewater treatment project in Washington, D.C., March 18, 2014. Construction worker installs storm water drain pipes at a hydrolysis wastewater treatment project in Washington, D.C., March 18, 2014.Evelyn Hockstein—Polaris  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 10, 2014 1:16 PM CUT The number of people [filing for unemployment claims](http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/eta20140571.pdf "undefined") dropped to the lowest level in nearly 7 years last week, as the job market shows signs of rebounding after the recession. Jobless claims last week fell to 300,000, down 32,000 from a week earlier and the lowest since May 12, 2007, before the onset of the recession, the Labor Department said Friday. The four-week average—a more stable indicator of labor market conditions—was down to 316,250, a drop from 321,00 the week before. The drop in jobless claims, which surpassed estimates from all 52 economists [surveyed by Bloomberg](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-10/jobless-claims-in-u-s-decline-to-lowest-level-since-may-2007.html "undefined"), indicates companies dismissed fewer people and suggests employers that are expecting growth are holding onto workers. The Labor Department said last week that employers added 192,000 jobs in March, and the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.7%. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/57338/jobless-claims-unemployment-jobs/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/57338/jobless-claims-unemployment-jobs/"},"headline":"Jobless Claims Drop to Lowest Level Since 2007","datePublished":"2014-04-10T13:16:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:14:30.312Z","description":"Newly released figures show 300,000 people filed for unemployment claims last week, the lowest level since before the recession, suggesting employers are dismissing fewer workers. But if the job market is going to continue bouncing back, they'll have to start hiring more","url":"https://time.com/57338/jobless-claims-unemployment-jobs/","keywords":["Economy","Jobs","Employment","Unemployment"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3f1ba68e18912636/698689fe169ab0a122278bb9/employment-united-states.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Noah Rayman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/noah-rayman/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3f1ba68e18912636/698689fe169ab0a122278bb9/employment-united-states.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Construction worker installs storm water drain pipes at a hydrolysis wastewater treatment project in Washington, D.C., March 18, 2014.","caption":"Construction worker installs storm water drain pipes at a hydrolysis wastewater treatment project in Washington, D.C., March 18, 2014.","creditText":"Evelyn Hockstein—Polaris","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/economy/","name":"Economy"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/57338/jobless-claims-unemployment-jobs/","name":"Jobless Claims Drop to Lowest Level Since 2007"}}]}] ```