First time claims for unemployment insurance fell 14,000 in the week ended March 9, the Labor Department reported Thursday, the first drop in four weeks. Continuing claims, reported on a one-week lag, also fell, dropping 81,000 to 3,343,000, after two straight weekly increases. The four week moving average for initial claims was flat at 355,750, unchanged from the previous week, while the four week average for continuing claims declined 25,250 to 3,394.250.

The nation added 227,000 jobs in February - the seventh straight month of 100,000-plus payroll gains, the longest such string since 2005 - as the unemployment rate held steady at 8.3 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. Economists had anticipated about 210,000 new jobs and a slight uptick in the unemployment rate. The strong report continued a positive trend with just a smattering of weak spots: retail employment dropped slightly and construction jobs declined, hinting that gains in construction in recent months were related to mild weather.

First time claims for unemployment insurance rose 8,000 in the week ended March 2, the Labor Department reported today, the third straight weekly increase after revisions to earlier data. Continuing claims, reported on a one-week lag, increase 10,000 to 3,416,000, the second straight weekly increase.

Personal Income rose 0.3 percent in January, compared with market expectations for an increase of 0.5 percent. Personal income grew 3.6 percent in the last year. Consumer Spending grew 0.2 percent, compared with market expectations for an increase of 0.4 percent.

First time claims for unemployment insurance edged down by 2,000 for the week ended February 25, the Department of Labor reported today. Data for the previous week were revised upward, turning a flat report into an increase in initial claims. The revision means claims rose and did not decline during the week used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in its month survey for the unemployment rate.

Overall economic activity continued to increase at a modest to moderate pace in January and early February, the Federal Reserve said in its periodic Beige Book, an anecdotal report of conditions in each of the 12 Federal Reserve districts. The report showed economic improvement varying across the country -- economic activity rose at a somewhat faster pace in the Philadelphia and Atlanta districts but growth was slower in New York. Minneapolis characterized the pace of growth as firm.

Real gross domestic product - the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States - increased at an annual rate of 3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Wednesday. In its initial report on fourth quarter GDP, the BEA had said the nation's economy grew at a 2.8 percent pace. Economists had forecast no change in the ""advance"" GDP estimate issued last month.

All three headline composites of the S&P/Case Shiller Index ended 2011 at new lows. The national composite fell by 3.8 percent during the fourth quarter of 2011 and was down 4.0 percent versus the fourth quarter of 2010. Both the 10- and 20-city composites fell by 1.1 percent in December over November, and posted annual returns of -3.9 percent and -4.0 percent versus December 2010, respectively. With these latest data, all three composites are at their lowest levels since the housing crisis began in mid-2006.

The pending home sales index (PHSI) rose in January to 97.0 from a downwardly revised 95.1 in December. At 97.0, the index is at its highest level since April 2011, the National Association of Realtors reported Monday. The index rose for the third time in the last four months and the January reading was 8 percent above January 2011 levels, but 26.5 percent below the April 2005 peak. The index began in January 2005. The PHSI has been trending upward, albeit modestly for most of the past two years. Despite the 20-month high, the index is relatively subdued.

First time claims for unemployment insurance were unchanged at 351,000 for the week ended February 18, as the four-year record low number filings one week earlier were revised upward, the Department of Labor reported Thursday. Continuing claims, reported on a one-week lag, fell 52,000 - the fourth drop in the six weeks this year - and the first time continuing claims have been below 3,400,000 since August 2008. The initial claims report covered the “reference week” used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in developing the monthly employment situation report release and the unemployment rate.