The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week, government data showed Today, but was still at levels indicating the labor market's contraction was yet to bottom, according to Reuters. However, a separate report from the Commerce Department showed the country's trade deficit shrank in February to its smallest since November 1999, supporting the view that the drop in first-quarter gross domestic product was probably not as steep as the previous period's 6.3 percent annual pace of decline. The Labor Department also said the ranks of unemployed who have claimed more than one week of aid vaulted to yet another record in the last week of March as laid-off workers battled to find new job opportunities amid a recession that is now in its 16th month. The economy's contraction in the fourth quarter was the sharpest decline since 1982. Economists said that was not a good sign for global trade.
