The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid from government dropped to its lowest level since 2000 last week, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday.
Jobless claims fell 23,000 to a seasonally adjusted 264,000, the lowest level since April 2000. The U.S. population has grown by tens of millions of people since then, which means the proportion of would-be workers applying for benefits is even smaller.
Jobless claims are a leading indicator of people who will need to receive benefits later on, so the data point is the latest sign that the U.S. economy is gearing up and starting to expand
Employers added 248,000 jobs last month and hiring in the previous two months was healthier than previously believed, the government said earlier this month. That helped push down the unemployment rate down to 5.9%, a six-year low.
The U.S. economy has added 2.64 million jobs in the past 12 months, the best annual showing since April 2006.
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