Fewer Than 300,000 in U.S. File Jobless Claims for 10th Week

Fewer Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week as the need to retain staff keeps firings at the lowest levels in more than a decade.

Jobless claims fell by 2,000 to 291,000 in the week ended Nov. 15 from an upwardly revised 293,000 in the prior period, a Labor Department report showed today in Washington. The median forecast of 51 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a decline to 284,000. It was the 10th straight week the number of claims has been lower than 300,000, which hasn’t happened since 2000.