Good News for the Young and Unemployed

There's plenty of evidence that the job market will begin to turn a corner very soon. Here's more:

More employers plan to increase college graduate hiring than decrease it for the first time in more than a year.

The National Association of Colleges and Employers' index for college hiring rose to 98.2, up from 87.2 in November. The index, based on the organization of career counselors' survey of 122 employers and released Tuesday, covers employer expectations for January through March.

More good news. This graph from Calculated Risk of initial unemployment claims shows a sharp drop-off from the 2009 high.

CR likes to point out that unemployment will peak when the four-week average sneaks below 400,000. At the current rate -- the number is around 450,000 and falling by 10,000 per week -- that's projected to happen by March. Still most long-term estimates project that unemployment will remain over 9 percent well into next year.