Labor Department says average for US jobless claims at fresh 5-year low
Layoff decline helps strengthen job market
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Posted: 03/21/2013
Last Updated:
58 days ago
WASHINGTON - The number of people seeking unemployment aid barely changed last week and the average over the past month fell to a fresh five-year low. A decline in layoffs is helping strengthen the job market, officials said.
The Labor Department says weekly unemployment benefit applications rose just 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 336,000. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, fell 7,500 to 339,750. That's the lowest since February 2008, just three months into the recession.
A steady decline in unemployment claims signals companies are laying off fewer workers. That suggests they aren't worried that business will fall off in the near future.
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