The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week to nearly its lowest level since before the 2007-09 recession, a sign of growing steam in the U.S. labor market.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 287,000 in the week that ended Oct. 4, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists had expected claims to rise.
The data add to the view that strength is building in the U.S. economy. "The labor market is entering into a potential boom," said Joseph LaVorgna, chief U.S economist at Deutsche Bank in New York.