The number of people filing new claims for state unemployment benefits fell unexpectedly to its lowest level since the beginning of the 2007-2009 Great Recession, the U.S. government said Thursday in a hopeful sign for the slowly improving labor market. The Labor Department reported that initial jobless claims fell 5,000 last week to 330,000, the lowest level since January 2008. Jobless claims have fallen for two consecutive weeks, suggesting that employers are not too concerned that tax increases enacted this year will affect consumer demand. The four-week moving average of jobless claims - a less volatile measure that is considered a better gauge of labor-market trends - also fell, dropping 8,250 to 351,750, the lowest since March 2008. Jobless claims now have fallen to levels last seen in 2007 and 2006. Claims, which reflect layoffs, began rising in December 2007, the date the U.S. recession started. While employers have reduced layoffs in recent years, they have added jobs at a slow pace, keeping the unemployment rate high.
