U.S. filings for unemployment benefits fell for the third time in four weeks and remain near the lowest level in 48 years, underscoring tightness in the job market, U.S. Labor Department figures showed Thursday.
Jobless claims decreased by 4,000 to 226,000 in contrast to estimates of 228,000
Continuing claims rose by 4,000 to 1.879 million in week ended March 3 (data reported with one-week lag)
Four-week average of initial claims, a less-volatile -- and therefore, more reliable -- measure than the weekly figure, fell to 221,500 from the prior week’s 222,250; the year-earlier figure was 243,000
The data follow the February jobs report last week showing employers added the most workers since mid-2016, while the labour-force participation rate in the U.S. had the biggest jump in almost eight years.
