The number of people filing for unemployment continues to fall, and this week it hit a 3.5-year low as the fewest people since May 2008 applied for the benefit. The weekly report points to a labor market recovery gaining speed, Reuters reports. The Wall Street Journal has the numbers, and a reminder that the downward trend bucks expectations: "Initial jobless claims fell by 19,000 to a seasonally adjusted 366,000 in the week ended Dec. 10, the Labor Department said Thursday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast claims would climb by 9,000 to 390,000." The four-week average, which economists see as a less volatile reading, "dropped last week by 6,500 to 387,750. That is the lowest level since July 2008," The Journal reported. Not bad.

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Adam Martin