Jobless claims slightly up to 277,000

More bad news on the economic front.......for the Democrats that is.

Smoothed average of new claims lowest in nearly 6 years

The four-week average of seasonally adjusted new claims fell to 276,500, the lowest since April 2000. The average number of new claims is nearly 50,000 lower than it was for most of 2005.

"The low pace of jobless claims suggests that the labor market is expanding at a solid pace, and that the economy has been strong enough to absorb higher energy costs," said Sophia Koropeckyj, an economist for Moody's Economy.com.

The four-week average is considered a better gauge of new claims because it smoothes out one-time disturbances, such as holidays, intense weather and strikes.