Pursuits
Jobless Claims in U.S. Decline to Lowest Level in Five Weeks
Employees install the windshield of an Amtrak locomotive at a manufacturing facility in Sacramento, California.
Photographer: David Paul Morris/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Fewer Americans than forecast filed applications for unemployment benefits last week as improved weather conditions ushered in labor-market stabilization.
Jobless claims fell by 9,000 to 282,000 in the seven days ended March 21, the lowest level since mid-February, a Labor Department report showed Thursday in Washington. The median forecast of 52 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for 290,000. Another report showed consumer confidence climbed last week to match the second-highest level since July 2007.