1.   However, child benefit has fallen in real value, so there was no justification for reducing the dependency additions.

2.   Americans applying for first-time unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, a sign the economy may not be slowing enough to keep inflation under wraps.

3.   But companies are slowly dropping the perk as liability has become more of a concern and top-heavy benefits have fallen out of favor.

4.   Claims for unemployment benefits fell again last week, another indication of a small and growing pool of labor.

5.   Food stamp benefits fall as welfare benefits rise, and this somewhat offsets the disparities in welfare benefits among the states.

6.   Highlighting that point, Labor Department figures released today showed the number of workers applying for state unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week.

7.   In this sort of case, the average benefit would have fallen short.

8.   Most analysts say taxes must rise or benefits must fall, or both.

9.   Most benefits under consideration fall far short of what working Americans receive.

10.   Separately, initial claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly fell last week, a sign the labor market is still strong.