WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits declined last week, the latest evidence that a sharp economic slowdown earlier this year hasn’t caused employers to cut jobs.
The Labor Department says weekly unemployment benefit applications fell 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 312,000. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, rose 2,000 to 314,000.
The average has fallen 9 percent since the beginning of this year. Applications are a proxy for layoffs, so the declines indicate that companies are cutting fewer jobs.
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