The number of people filing new applications for U.S. unemployment benefits fell last week, the government reported Thursday, indicating steadily improving labor-market conditions despite two consecutive months of weak hiring. The Labor Department said initial jobless claims declined by 3,000 to 336,000 last week. The four-week moving average of claims - a less volatile measure considered a better gauge of labor-market conditions - rose 1,750 to 338,500. A total of 3.53 million people received unemployment benefits as of February 1, up from 3.52 million the previous week. Unusually cold weather was blamed for a sharp slowdown in hiring in January and December. But jobless claims have remained in a range between 325,000 and 348,000 this year, suggesting no fundamental shift in labor-market conditions.
