New jobless claims continue their slide

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell again last week, the government said Thursday, supplying further proof that the U.S. labor market continues to mend.

Initial claims are a good indicator of whether layoffs are rising or falling. They've declined since last summer, meaning that more people are finding work or fewer are losing their jobs.

Jobless claims dropped by 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 358,000 in the week ended Feb. 4, the Labor Department said. That's near a four-year low.

Economists surveyed by MarketWatch estimated claims would rise to 370,000. Claims from two weeks ago were revised up by 6,000 to 373,000.

The four-week average of claims, meanwhile, fell by 11,000 to 366,250, to mark the lowest level since April 2008.

The monthly average smooths out seasonal quirks and provides a more accurate glimpse into labor-market trends, economists say. Hiring is generally viewed as improving when weekly claims drop below the 400,000 mark.

Data drawn from the monthly employment report, which measures actual hiring, appear to confirm a more positive trend. Last week, the government reported the U.S. added 243,000 jobs in January, the biggest increase in nine months.

"Initial claims have been consistently falling since September and have reached levels that should be consistent with solid payroll gains," said Stephen Stanley, chief economist of Pierpont Securities.

Still, the unemployment rate remains stubbornly high at 8.3 percent three years after the last recession ended, though it has been falling. Economists say the U.S. would have to add 250,000 jobs a month for several years to pull unemployment back down to normal levels below 6 percent.