Thursday Is New Jobless Day

And some better news.

April 24 (Bloomberg) -- The number of Americans filing first- time claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week to a two-month low, a sign some companies have put firing plans on hold.

Initial jobless claims decreased by 33,000 to 342,000 in the week ended April 19, the Labor Department said today in Washington. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News forecast a gain of 3,000. The number of people staying on benefit rolls declined to 2.934 million from close to a four-year high of 2.999 million the week earlier.