The number of people filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week to near the lowest level in five years, the U.S. government reported Thursday, indicating resilience in the labor market. The Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell 12,000 to 334,000 last week, the smallest number of first-time applications since early May and near levels last seen in the early days of the 2007-2009 Great Recession. The four-week moving average of jobless claims, a less volatile measure considered a better indicator of labor-market trends, fell 7,250 to 345,250 last week. Many economists believe growing confidence in the U.S. economic recovery has led employers to exit a long cycle of elevated layoffs. Moreover, no increase in layoffs has been seen as a result of Washington's fiscal austerity this year. At the same time, however, companies have been reluctant to accelerate the pace of hiring, and the national unemployment rate is expected to end the year above 7 percent.
