The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits dropped by 19,000 last week, the largest decline in two months, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
The decline pushed the level of unemployment benefits down to 334,000 after claims had unexpectedly jumped by 23,000 the week before. The new claims data was in line with market expectations for a drop to 332,000 from the original estimate of 350,000 for the week ended March 26.
The big decrease of 19,000 was the first decline after two consecutive weekly increases, and it was the largest drop since a decrease of 27,000 the week of Feb. 5.
