[5]The Wall Street Journal reported today [6], “New U.S. claims for state unemployment benefits unexpectedly tumbled last week to their lowest level since the beginning of the year, as anticipated layoffs in the automobile industry failed to materialize as much as the government expected. “Still, the data don’t necessarily imply better days ahead for U.S. workers that have seen job prospects dry up by the severe recession. Weekly figures tend to be quite volatile this time of year as government statisticians try to predict the timing of annual layoffs at auto and other manufacturing plants, leading to choppy swings in the seasonally-adjusted data that could be reversed in coming weeks.”