A handful of economic reports released Thursday raised hopes for an improving job market with fewer layoffs and more hiring.

Productivity slowed more than initially estimated in the first quarter of the year, a sign that employers are struggling to squeeze more work out of leaner staffs. The lower figure was expected after the government last week revised its growth estimate for the first quarter.

The number of people filing first-time jobless claims dipped for the second consecutive week but remains elevated for the year.

The number of people filing claims dropped, but the number of people out of work is still higher than it’s ever been. Great news huh?

Chrysler Group LLC says it will rehire 379 laid-off workers and hire 20 new supervisors to build transmissions at its operations in Kokomo, Indiana.

The company said Tuesday that it will invest $43 million in equipment to expand the Kokomo operations, which include casting and transmission plants.

I’m sure this news will come as a comfort to the hundreds of others who are still looking for work. As President Obama says, it’s a positive sign. (cough)

23,000 steps backward, 6,000 steps forward. PROGRESS!

Private employers unexpectedly shed jobs in March, dampening hopes about the strength of the recovery two days before the more closely watched government payrolls report.

In addition, U.S. Midwest business activity expanded less than expected in March while a gauge of New York City business conditions fell, separate reports showed on Wednesday.

U.S. private employers cut 23,000 jobs in March, missing expectations for an increase in jobs, but the decline was slightly less than the losses in February, according to the data by a payroll processing company.

Initial claims for unemployment benefits fell slightly last week as the recovering economy moves closer to generating more jobs.

The Labor Department said Thursday that new jobless benefit claims dropped 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 439,000, nearly matching analysts’ estimates. It’s the fourth drop in five weeks.

If you were one of the 6,000 people, or the 1.9 people out of every 100,000 who found work this month, CONGRATULATIONS!

Just think, the other day Harry Reid said more job loss was a big day in America. I wonder if the people back home are happy with that statement of his?

The jobless rate in the Las Vegas area jumped to 13.8 percent in January, the 13th consecutive month of double-digit unemployment.

Hardest hit was the construction industry, where employment fell from 63,000 in December 2009 to 51,700 in January. But there was a rebound in gaming employment in January with 151,200 on the job, compared to 146,200 in December.

The Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation reported today that statewide, the seasonally adjusted jobless rate was 13 percent with an estimated 187,700 people out of work. The 13 percent compares to the national average of 9.7 percent for January.

Thirteen percent!!! Something’s not working.

An awesome day for the state of Georgia. Jobs. Jobs. Jobs.

Gov. Sonny Perdue joined Korean and American dignitaries in celebrating the opening of Kia’s first North American manufacturing facility in west Georgia Friday.

“This is a momentous day for Georgia as Kia Motors has brought thousands of new jobs to this area and is truly delivering as tremendous corporate citizen,” Perdue said at an opening event attended by Sen. Saxby Chambliss and other dignitaries who heard a keynote speech from Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group chairman and CEO Chung Mong Koo.

Perdue and Chung announced that Kia would come to Georgia four years ago.

Everyone knew it was just a matter of time before the state laws would kick in and require a higher premium for unemployment insurance taxes.

Employers are getting hit with a massive tax hike at a time when they can least afford it.

Companies in at least 35 states will have to fork over more in unemployment insurance taxes this year, according to the National Association of State Workforce Agencies.

The median increase will be 27.5%. And employers in places such as Hawaii and Florida could see levies skyrocket more than ten-fold.

Too bad our current president hasn’t done anything to lower unemployment and save all those states so much money.

More and more people are doing it.

Many jobless people have reached a conclusion that captures the depth of the unemployment crisis: Looking for a job is a waste of time.

The economy is growing. Yet it’s creating few jobs. That’s why in the past eight months, 1.8 million people without jobs left the labor market. Many had grown so frustrated by their failure to find a job that they threw up their hands and quit looking for one.

And it’s why Barbara Bishop sat down at her kitchen table in suburban Atlanta last month and joined their ranks. Her decision came seven months after she quit a PR job that seemed about to be axed. Sending out resumes got her nowhere. So Bishop made a list of her skills and decided to launch her own business.

With the way things are today, it’s not such a bad idea.

Analysts expected payrolls to rise by 15,000 with unemployment holding at 10%, yet there was a loss of 20,000 jobs nd the rate fell to 9.7%.

The U.S. economy lost 20,000 jobs in January, the Labor Departmentsaid Friday, defying expectations for a slim gain. But the jobless rateunexpectedly fell to 9.7% from 10% in December.

Wall Street expected nonfarm payrolls to rise by 15,000 with unemployment holding at 10%.

Stocks opened up, sold off, then staged a big rally late to end higher. The Dow rose 0.1%, the S&P 500 0.3% and the Nasdaq 0.7%.

Someone is fudging numbers. You do the math.

President Barack Obama said on Friday new jobs figures showed the United States was climbing out of the “huge hole” created by the recession but he cautioned that the data would fluctuate in the months to come.

The jobless rate fell to 9.7 percent in January from 10 percent in December. Obama called that encouraging, but he said it was not cause for celebration.

Of course it’s not cause for celebration. Most of those jobs created were for temporary census jobs. duh.