Here’s good news on a Friday during the holiday season!

According to The Labor Department, the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits dropped significantly for a fourth consecutive week.

Weekly applications for benefits dropped by 29,000 last week to the lowest in two months — a total of 343,000!  This marks the second lowest number during this calendar year.

A significant note as well is the fact that we’re smack in the midst of holiday season, a time when hiring typically trickles off until the new year.

The decrease may be attributed to companies cutting less jobs but that said, employers need to ramp up hiring to further impact numbers in a positive direction.