Jobless-Benefit Claims Decrease in January

Initial claims for jobless benefits nationwide fell last week, a sign that the economy is strengthening enough for companies to resume hiring. New applications during January were the fewest since the recession began.

State unemployment offices received 376,000 claims last week, a decline of 15,000, the U.S. Labor Department said. Claims have held at less than 400,000 for five weeks. The last time that happened was in March.

The four-week moving average, considered a more reliable measure of employment conditions because it irons out weekly fluctuations, fell to 380,500, its lowest level since last August.

The number of workers remaining on jobless benefits for the week ended Jan. 26, the most recent week for which data were available, fell to 3.427 million from 3.477 million.