The number of people applying for new unemployment benefits has fallen to the lowest level since mid-2007, shortly before the Great Recession began. Jobless claims dropped to a seasonally adjusted 300,000 in the seven days ended April 5. The last time claims were that low was in the week of May 12, 2007, when they totaled 297,000. But that doesn’t mean the U.S. economy now is anything like the economy back then. The unemployment rate is much higher, a smaller percentage of Americans are looking for work, sales of new homes are 50% lower and consumer confidence has yet to return to prerecession levels. Those are just ... (full story)