U.S. Unemployment Rate Drops

There is some hope amongst analysts that the U.S. unemployment rate will manage to avoid the dreaded double-digit rate. This hope has been refreshed today after the latest unemployment numbers showed a drop from 9.5% unemployment to 9.4%.

The news comes as the official numbers for U.S. job losses in July come in. This news is surprising, as many thought that the unemployment rate would rise to 9.6%. The news shows that the rate of job loss is slowing, and may even be reversing. The Financial Times reports on the gathering optimism about the U.S. economy:

The slowing declines, combined with a small uptick in average weekly hours worked from June’s lows, means that redundancies may be in retreat, but “It’s another level of confidence that’s needed before hiring can begin again,” said Alan Ruskin, a strategist at RBS on Thursday.