Last week, 34,000 less workers filed for unemployment benefits, bringing the total number to 407,000 — the lowest level in more than two years, according to the Department of Labor.



The numbers are better than expected: economists expected seasonally adjusted unemployment to fall to 435,000 this week.



The four-week average of initial unemployment benefit claims, a more accurate indicator, also fell to a two-year low — by 7,500 to 436,000.



The timing of the announcement is also welcome news for President Obama, who appeared at an Indiana auto manufacturing plant on Tuesday to tout his economic policies to voters in a state with almost 10 percent unemployment.

