Last week brought a lot of bad economic news: the unemployment rate rose to 8.2%, only 69,000 jobs were added in May (which was a major surprise because economists were expecting that number to be in the 100,000 range), and we learned that we’d added 49,000 fewer jobs in March and April than we’d thought. Additionally, Congress has committed itself to cut spending by about $100 billion next year and more than $1 trillion over the next decade. If that happens and the Bush tax cuts and payroll holiday are not extended, the economy is expected to decline by 3.5-5%.  And so on…

When it comes to the economy and jobs, it seems as if we are constantly being bogged down by bad news. This makes it hard to “see the light at the end of the tunnel.” But, believe it or not, there are some signs that the end is near.

Recently featured in an AOL Jobs article, government data shows that “new claims for unemployment benefits fell slightly last week… suggesting that the labor market continues to expand at a moderate pace.” If claims have barely budged then there is more room for improvement in the pace of job creation.  How? As more people fall off the unemployment benefits roll, the more the jobless rate will be pushed down. Why? Because people will be forced to actively look for work and in turn, land a job.

So for those of you now actively looking for work, Resume Not Required offers great insight on job seeking and hiring. Find out more at www.resumenotrequired.com.