Unemployment Claims Down But Still High

The number of Pennsylvanians filing for unemployment benefits is down for the third straight week, but the Department of Labor and Industry is cautioning people about reading too much into that trend. About 3,400 people applied for unemployment benefits last week. That's down from 36-hundred the week before, and 43-hundred two weeks ago. Department of Labor and Industry spokesman David Smith says that's good, but notes the number of filings is still way above where it was last spring. “Right now, through the comparable weeks through 2008, 2009 is running 60 percent above the rate of initial claims in the same period of 2008,” says Smith. He goes on to note that is a higher rate than March, which was 56 percent above 2008 levels. Smith says Pennsylvania has borrowed $500 million fro the federal government since mid-March to cover the benefits.