Jobless Claims, Job Market | featured news

The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits jumped by 16,000 last week, the second straight weekly increase. But the longer-term trend in layoffs remained consistent with an improved job market.

The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment aid barely changed last week, while the average over the past month fell to a fresh five-year low. The decline in layoffs is helping strengthen the job market.

Fewer Americans sought unemployment aid last week, reducing the average number of weekly applications last month to a five-year low. The drop shows that fewer layoffs are strengthening the job market. The Labor Department says applications fell 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 332,000. That pushed the four-week average to 346,750, the lowest since March 2008, just several months after the Great Recession began. Applications are a proxy for layoffs. They have fallen nearly 13 percent since November.

The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid plummeted to a five-year low last week, a hopeful sign the job market may be improving.

The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits was unchanged last week at a seasonally adjusted 374,000, suggesting slow improvement in the job market.

The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits dropped last week to the lowest level in four years, adding to evidence that the job market is strengthening.

New claims for unemployment benefits dropped to a fresh four-year low last week, according to a government report on Thursday that offered evidence the jobs market recovery was gaining traction.

New claims for unemployment benefits rose in the latest week, but not by enough to shake the conviction that the job market is still healing.

The number of people seeking unemployment benefits plummeted last week to 352,000, the fewest since April 2008. The decline added to evidence that the job market is strengthening.

New claims for unemployment benefits dropped sharply in the latest week, The Labor Department said Thursday, giving the jobs market one of its first positive signals in some time.