The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits last week fell to its lowest level in more than a year, underscoring the resilience of the labor market despite elevated interest rates that are intended to cool the economy.
Jobless claim applications fell to 187,000 for the week ending Jan. 13, a decrease of 16,000 from the previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
That's the lowest four-week average in almost a year.
Overall, 1.81 million Americans were collecting jobless benefits during the week that ended Jan. 6, a decline of 26,000 from the previous week.
Weekly unemployment claims are viewed as representative for the number of U.S. layoffs in a given week.
Organizations:
Labor Department