Attention Graduates...

Unemployment claims fell by 36,000 to just under 300,000 in the week ended April 16. This marked the second week that jobless claims fell below 300,000 since the week ended Oct. 21, 2000.

What does this mean? Well, before 2001 the United States saw a four year hiring boom where jobless claims were at a weekly average of 309,000.

Though economists don't lean too heavily on jobless claims as an indicator of labor market strength, it seems like the market may be falling back into the trend seen before 2001 which could mean a slight increase in hiring opportunities.