For many people in the United States, the unemployment numbers that are used to measure the strength of the economy are imperative to their confidence in the economy.

But really, how strong is the US economy right now?

While most people in the United States today believe that the economy is growing just from popular knowledge and news in the media, there are many people, including market analysts and economists, who use certain economic indicators, like the jobless claims indicator to measure the true strength and current climate of the current economy.

This economic indicator, known as Jobless Claims, reports the number of individuals in the United States that newly filed for unemployment insurance that month.  This can help investors, and every day citizens shape a perspective and determine how they perceive the current state of the United States economy.

This data is also seasonally adjusted, in order to account for seasonal hirings and firings during certain times of the year, like before the holiday season in November.

Most economists believe that the four-week moving average is a more accurate number to gauge the economy, as the week-to-week number is volatile due to immediate changes in the economy or country.

According to the report published on August 25 by the United States Department of Labor, the level of jobless claims is at a historically low level, as there are currently low levels of layoffs and many people are not filing for unemployment insurance.

As released in the last report, 261,000 people filed in the past week lowering the level by about 1,000 claims overall.

Economic analysts believe that the jobless claims numbers will continue to remain similar throughout the next few months, as the economy continues to grow and the labor market improves.

While many citizens believe that the current economy has improved since the economic downturn a few years ago, the jobless claims indicator proves that the economy has drastically improved.

The number of people who have newly filed for unemployment insurance, known as the jobless claims, has remained under 300,000 per week for over 77 weeks.  This record is the longest streak in the US labor market since 1970.

While things seem to be looking up for the economy, it is important to understand that people are still filing for unemployment insurance.  As the unemployment rate is not currently at zero percent, there are still people who are looking for jobs and unable to find them, and therefore there are people who need the assistance from the unemployment insurance.

The number of jobless claims is at a historical low, yet there are still many people who have distrust and lack confidence in the state of our economy.  While the jobless claims indicator paints a pretty and strong picture of the economy, it is very important to look and identify other indicators that allow a much more inclusive and authentic picture of the current state of our economy.