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US jobless claims fall to lowest level in 4 years
http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-03-29-US-Unemployment-Benefits/id-353afce34aea4e57a37971ed252724fcCHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER, AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) —[font size="3"] 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.[/font]
The Labor Department said Thursday that weekly unemployment benefit applications fell 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 359,000. That's the smallest number of applicants since April 2008. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, declined to 365,000.
The department also made its annual revisions to the past five years of unemployment benefit data. The revisions increased the number of unemployment benefit applicants in recent months. But the downward trend remains intact.
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From December through February, employers added an average of 245,000 jobs per month. That has pushed down the unemployment rate to 8.3 percent, the lowest in three years.
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