The awful employment news…

…isn't quite as awful as the last time…

Initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits dropped to a seasonally adjusted 601,000 in the week ended May 2 from a revised 635,000 the prior week, the Labor Department said.

…except for the part that keeps getting worse...

The number of people staying on the benefits roll after drawing an initial week of aid rose 56,000 to 6.351 million in the week ended April 25, the most recent week for which data is available. Analysts estimated so-called continued claims would be 6.36 million.

It was the highest reading on record and pushed the insured unemployment rate to 4.8 percent from 4.7 percent the week before. Continued claims have now notched fresh record high readings for 14 straight weeks.

If you think the system is working, ask someone who isn't.