Applications for US jobless aid fell to 3-month low of 232K
WASHINGTON — Fewer people sought U.S. unemployment benefits last week, a sign Americans are benefiting from solid job security.
THE NUMBERS: Applications for weekly unemployment aid fell 4,000 to 232,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s the lowest level in nearly three months. The four-week average, a less volatile figure, declined 2,750 to 240,750.
Applications are a proxy for layoffs. They have been below 300,000, a historically low figure, for 115 weeks. That’s the longest such streak since 1970.
The number of people receiving aid fell to 1.9 million, the lowest level since 1988. The figure has fallen 12 per cent in the past year.