U.S. applications for unemployment benefits fell to their lowest level in nearly a year last week, pointing to a still healthy labor market with historically low layoffs.
The Labor Department on Wednesday said that applications for jobless benefits fell to 201,000 for the week ending January 4, down from the previous week’s 211,000. This week’s figure is the lowest since February of last year.
The four-week average of claims, which evens out the week-to-week ups and downs, fell by 10,250 to 213,000.
The overall numbers receiving unemployment benefits for the week of December 28 rose to 1.87 million, an increase of 33,000 from the previous week.
Weekly jobless claims are considered a proxy for the number of U.S. layoffs.
