this is the cbs evening news with scott pelley. pelley: good evening. you ve been telling us in poll after poll that the economy is the biggest problem facing the country. so we start tonight with new evidence that it s get, better. the number of americans putting in their first claims for unemployment benefits is at a four-year low, 348,000. home construction is up 1.5%. and general motors back from bankruptcy, reported record profits for, $7.6 billion. we have three correspondents covering. first, ben tracy in california, where unemployment still tops 11%. reporter: scott, more than two million people are still out of work here in california but the good news is businesses are hiring. and they re now expected to create half a million new jobs in just the next two years. at this clothing maker in downtown los angeles, johnny quintero is the newest hire. it feels great, yeah. i learn something new every day. reporter: he was brought on in january after being out of