Jobless claims lowest since November

Applications for unemployment benefits in the United States unexpectedly declined last week to an almost three-month low, echoing a vibrant job market.

Jobless claims fell by 12,000 to 234,000 in the week ended Feb. 4, a report from the Labor Department showed Thursday.

The average number of applications filed over the past four weeks reached the lowest point since 1973.

The latest results extend a trend of historically low claims, with applications staying below 300,000 in the longest streak since 1970. A shortage of skilled workers is prompting companies to hold on to existing employees while continuing to add more workers to help fulfill demand.

The four-week moving average decreased to 244,250, the lowest since the period ended Nov. 3, 1973, from 248,000.

No states estimated jobless claims last week, and there was nothing unusual in the figures, according to the Labor Department.

The latest tally marks 101 straight weeks of claims below 300,000, the level economists consider consistent with a healthy labor market. The 161-week period that ended in April 1970 was the longest such streak in records back to 1967.

The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits rose by 15,000 to 2.08 million in the week ended Jan. 28. The unemployment rate among people eligible for benefits held at 1.5 percent. These data are reported with a one-week lag.

Jobless claims do not include people who have stopped looking for work or who have cycled out of the system, among others.