Applications for unemployment benefits fell last week by 12,000, to 215,000, the lowest level since 1973, the Labor Department reported today.
The data is substantially lower than analysts’ forecasts, which anticipated 228,000 new requests.
As for the average of applicants for the subsidy during the last month, a more reliable indicator of the progress of the labor market, decreased by 500 and stood at 224,500, according to the Government’s report.
The demands for unemployment benefits take 160 consecutive weeks below the figure of 300,000, a sign of the good health of the country’s labor market.
The total number of people receiving unemployment subsidies continuously increased by 35,000, to 1.87 million.
The strength of the labor market has been maintained during the first year of the president’s term, Donald Trump, and in February the unemployment rate stood at 4.1 percent, the lowest level in 17 years. (efeusa)
