First-time claims for unemployment benefits fell below a million again last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. This happened before -- in early August -- before claims reversed course and bounced higher. Another 881,000 Americans filed initial claims for benefits last week on a seasonally adjusted basis. Normally, the fact that so many people filed for unemployment last week would not be a reason to celebrate. But these are not normal times, and this is another sign that the jobs market is gradually recovering. Continued jobless claims, which count people filing for benefits for at least two weeks in a ... (full story)