Thank God for minimum-wage, seasonal jobs. Wal-Mart, Target, Kmart… we take our hats off to you!

WASHINGTON - Fewer people signed up for jobless benefits last week, an encouraging sign that most companies aren-t resorting to large’scale layoffs as the country copes with continuing problems in the housing and credit markets.

The Labor Department reported Wednesday that new applications filed for unemployment insurance dropped by a seasonally adjusted 11,000 to 330,000 for the week ending Nov. 17. It was the lowest level since the beginning of November. The 330,000 level of claims was in line with economists- forecasts.
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So far, decent job creation and wage growth have helped to offset some of the negative forces hitting some people, problems ranging from weaker home values to hard-to-get credit.