In a sign that the black cloud that’s hovered over the economy for the past several years may be ready to give way to a little sunshine, unemployment claims dropped to 348,000 in the week that ended Feb. 11 — the lowest level since March 2008. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the number of claims dropped by 13,000 from the previous week.

The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) talks to experts who stop short of declaring the sign of an improving jobs market, coupled with a slight uptick in home building last month, is reason to believe a recovery is imminent. According to the government, nonfarm employment made its most significant leap in nine months, adding 243,000 jobs in January.

While more people working and having homes may not confirm that these are the beginnings of boom times, they’re certainly nudges in an encouraging direction.

Jobless Claims Hit Lowest Level Since 2008 [The Wall Street Journal (subscription required)]

Builders in U.S. Likely Started More Homes in January [The Wall Street Journal]” target=”_blank”>Jobless Claims Hit Lowest Level Since 2008 [Bloomberg]

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