WASHINGTON – New claims for unemployment insurance fall more than expected last week, evidence the job market is slowly healing as the economy recovers.
The Labor Department says first-time claims dropped to a seasonally adjusted 502,000 from an upwardly revised 514,000 the previous week. That’s the fewest claims since the week ending Jan. 3, and below economists’ estimates.
The four-week average, which smooths fluctuations, dropped to 519,750, the lowest in almost a year.
Economists closely watch initial claims as a gauge of the pace of layoffs. But claims can also provide a signal about the willingness of companies to hire, because laid-off workers able to find jobs are less likely to request benefits.
The number of people continuing to claim benefits dropped by 139,000 to 5.6 million, also below analysts’ estimates.