Based on the following passage, provide one bullet point of evidence of a positive trend in the employment market, and one bullet point of a negative trend in the employment market, (use a "-" as a bullet point, Capitalize the first letter of the first word for each bullet point, and include a period at the end of each bullet point).
The number of applications for unemployment benefits has held steady in September at just under 900,000 a week, as employer uncertainty about the economic recovery six months into the coronavirus pandemic continued to restrain hiring gains.
Jobless claims increased slightly to 870,000 last week from 866,000 a week earlier, according to Thursday’s Labor Department report. The totals remain well above pre-pandemic peaks but are down significantly from nearly seven million in March.
The labor market has added jobs in the prior four months after steep declines in employment at the beginning of the pandemic, helping bring down the jobless rate to 8.4% in August from near 15% in April. But the pace of gains has slowed recently, and persistently elevated jobless claims in September point to continued cooling in the jobs market.
- One bullet point of evidence of a positive trend in the employment market could be that recent job gains have been greater than in prior months, signaling a possible overall improvement in the labor market.
- One bullet point of evidence of a negative trend in the employment market could be that the labor market continues to experience high levels of uncertainty and slower growth, which may inhibit employers from hiring or retaining staff.