Fewer Join Ranks of Newly Unemployed

Hundreds of thousands of people lost their jobs and joined the unemployment lines last week -- slightly less people than the week before, but still far too many to help stabilize our housing market, prevent foreclosures and grow our economy.

The number of people who filed for their first week of unemployment benefits dropped to a seasonally adjusted rate of 457,000 in the week ending March 13, down 5,000 from 462,000 initial claims for unemployment the week before, according to the Dept. of Labor.

The four-week moving average, which smooths out some the week-to-week up and down of the numbers, also dropped to a seasonally-adjusted 471,250, down 4,250 from the week before.