WASHINGTON — Weekly applications for U.S. unemployment aid fell last week to a seasonally adjusted 369,000, a level consistent with modest hiring.
The Labor Department said Thursday that unemployment benefit applications dropped by 23,000, from a revised 392,000 the previous week. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, rose to 368,000.
The figures appear to have stabilized after being distorted in the previous two weeks by seasonal adjustment problems.
Applications are a proxy for layoffs. When they fall below 375,000, it suggests hiring is strong enough to lower the unemployment rate.
Read tomorrow's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.