WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell sharply last week, an encouraging sign that layoffs are easing.

Weekly applications dropped 37,000 to a seasonally adjusted 391,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That's the lowest level since April 2 and the first time applications have fallen below 400,000 since Aug. 6.

Some of the improvement was due to technical factors related to the seasonal adjustment of the data, a Labor Department spokesman said. The spokesman also said some states reported higher applications in previous weeks due to Hurricane Irene.

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