Jobless claims fall to lowest level in nearly 6 months

WASHINGTON (AP) _ The number of newly laid off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits fell sharply last week to the lowest level in nearly six months. <br/><br/>The Labor Department reported Thursday

Thursday, January 11th 2007, 8:47 am

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) _ The number of newly laid off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits fell sharply last week to the lowest level in nearly six months.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that applications for jobless claims dropped by 26,000 to 299,000 last week on a seasonally adjusted basis. It marked the first time jobless claims have fallen below 300,000 since the week of July 22.

The improvement was much better than the decline of 9,000 that analysts had been expecting and provided further evidence that the slowing U.S. economy has not begun to seriously affect the labor market outside of specific industries such as housing and auto manufacturing.