Unemployment benefit claims hit 15-year low

In the four-week period ending May 16, the average number of jobless claims decreased to 266,250, a 15-year low, according to a Labor Department report released Thursday.

Bloomberg notes that the decrease in the average number of Americans who filed for unemployment benefits is "a sign the labor market continues to strengthen." The four-week claim average was the lowest since April 15, 2000.

In addition to the decrease in unemployment benefit applications, the number of people receiving unemployment benefits decreased by 12,000 to 2.21 million in the week of May 9, which marks the lowest figure since November 2000, Bloomberg notes.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

"It's indicative of a labor market that's showing no signs of reversal, even if the pace of job growth is going to slow," Eric Green, head of U.S. economic research at TD Securities USA LLC, told Bloomberg.