And it’s good news, with initial claims falling by 27K to 365,000, beating estimates, and continuing and extended claims fell as well, though the less volatile 4-week moving average rose.

The real news on the economy though is the fact that Euro zone unemployment  hit a record high:

Rising unemployment and plunging business confidence in the euro area revealed the increasingly fragile state of the region’s economy on Wednesday, as voters in France and Greece prepare to deliver their verdict on austerity in Sunday elections.

Official figures showed that unemployment across the 17-member single currency zone increased by 169,000 in March, for the 11th consecutive month, to hit 17.37m. The unemployment rate was 10.9%, the highest level in its history.

Even in Germany, which has so far largely escaped unscathed from the downturn sweep of the labour market, unemployment began to tick up in March, though it remained at just 5.6% of the workforce.

There was also evidence that businesses are being hit by what many analysts expect to be a eurozone-wide recession. The manufacturing PMI for the zone in April – a measure of confidence among businesses – registered a sharp decline, from 47.7 to 45.9, the lowest since June 2009, and well below the 50 mark which signals growth.

BTW, in the US, consumer confidence to a 2 month low.

To quote Bette Davis, “Fasten your seat belts, it’s going to be a bumpy night.”