WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits dropped 9,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 323,000, near the lowest level since June 2008. The figure shows employers are laying off fewer and fewer workers, an encouraging sign one day before the government will issue its August jobs report.
Weekly applications are just 1,000 above a five-year low reached last month, the Labor Department said Thursday. The four week average, a less volatile measure, declined 3,000 to 328,500. That's the lowest point since October 2007.
A private survey released Thursday by the payroll company ADP showed that businesses added 176,000 jobs in August, roughly in line with the monthly average for the year.
Combined, the two reports point to steady improvement in the job market — a fact the Federal Reserve will weigh when it meets later this month to consider whether to slow its monthly bond purchases. Many analysts think the Fed will scale back its bond buying, which has been intended to keep long-term borrowing rates near record lows.
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