The number of people filing initial applications for U.S. state unemployment benefits fell sharply last week, the government reported Thursday, signaling that the job market is increasingly secure for workers. The Labor Department said jobless claims fell 25,000 to 234,000 last week. The decline was the biggest in almost two years. Claims have been below 300,000—a level associated with a healthy labor market—for 109 consecutive weeks. The four-week moving average of jobless claims—a better gauge of labor market trends because it smoothes weekly volatility—fell 4,500 to 250,000 last week. The total number of people receiving unemployment benefits fell 24,000 to 2.03 million last week, down 7.2 percent from a year ago. The recovery from the Great Depression is nearly eight years old, with the unemployment rate down to a healthy 4.7 percent. Employers added an average of 237,000 jobs in February and January, an acceleration from last year's average monthly gains of 187,000. The jobless-claims report has no bearing on the March employment report to be released Friday. Economists forecast that employers added 178,000 jobs last month.
