WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The ranks of Americans lining up to file initial claims for jobless benefits thinned by 9,000 last week, the government said on Thursday in a surprisingly strong report that signaled healthy job growth.
Initial filings for state unemployment aid fell to 316,000 in the week ended Jan. 29, matching a reading seven weeks ago as the second-lowest since before the economy tipped into recession in 2001, the Labor Department said.