WASHINGTON — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell 24,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 334,000, a sign that steady job gains should continue.
The drop left unemployment benefit applications at the lowest level in 10 weeks, the Labor Department said Thursday. Some of the decline may have been caused by seasonal factors.
Still, the broader trend has been favorable. The four-week average, which smooths out fluctuations, fell 5,250 to 351,000.
"We believe labor market conditions remain on a gradually improving trajectory," said Laura Rosner, an economist at BNP Paribas.
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