(RTTNews) - Government data released Thursday indicated that layoffs eased again last week, another encouraging sign for the job market a day before closely-watched monthly statistics are set to be released. This is the latest in a recent string of releases that have suggested that steep job losses could begin to flatten out soon, as the pace of economic contraction shows signs of slackening.

The U.S. Labor Department said initial jobless claims, a closely-watched gauge of layoffs, dropped to 601,000 for the week ended May 2nd. This was down 34,000 from the previous week's revised forecast of 635,000. The result was better than the average forecast of economists, who had generally expected 635,000 new claims.

(Read the entire article.)