Employment Picture Brightens Up

The number of US workers filing for unemployment benefits for the first time inched down in the week ending March 9, to a seasonally adjusted 377,000 from 380,000 the previous week, according to the DoL.
 
However, the four-week moving average, a more reliable measure of the unemployment situation because it smoothes out weekly fluctuation, edged up slightly to 374,750 from 373,750 a week earlier.

These levels were more or less in line with the expectations of economists polled by Reuters.