Unemployment benefit requests drop to 3-year low

Published November 17, 2014

The number of people requesting unemployment benefits last week plunged to a nearly three-year low, bolstering hopes that companies will hire more this year.

The government says applications for unemployment benefits fell by 20,000 to a seasonally adjusted 368,000. It was the third decline in the last four weeks. Applications are now at their lowest level since late May 2008.

Applications below 425,000 tend to signal modest job growth. But they would need to dip consistently to 375,000 or below to indicate a significant decline in the unemployment rate. Applications for benefits peaked during the recession at 651,000.

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