Today comes word that the job market still is not improving. The weekly unemployment numbers are in, and they are not looking good.

Last week, there were 500,000 new claims filed for unemployment. This number is higher than it has been in 9 months. Last week, there were 480,000 claims filed. Unemployment insurance is issued to those who are actively looking for new jobs, after being layed off of their previous jobs.

Many job seekers are wondering when the job market will get better. Economists are mixed on their predictions. Some believe it is about to turn around now, while others believe that we have over a year to go before things change. Employment numbers are considered to be a lagging indicator, meaning they tend to get better after the economy has begun to recover. Job numbers usually are not analyzed to see which direction the economy is turning.