New claims for unemployment benefits over the past few weeks indicate a possible tapering off of layoffs, but leaves little evidence new jobs are being created.  A weekly report from the U.S. Department of Labor shows the total number of people who filed for unemployment benefits for the first time last week fell by 34,000 to 601,000.  Still, the total number of unemployed persons remains at a record high. New numbers to be released by the Labor Department Friday for the month of April are expected to keep in sync with the three previous monthly reports released so far this year – indicating the U.S. economy still has quite a way to go. Economists estimate another 600,000 or more people lost their jobs last month, which would push the unemployment rate to somewhere around 8.9 percent.

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1. President Obama’s executive order creating labor/management forums