Jobless Benefit Claims Fall for Third Week

New claims for unemployment insurance dropped for the third straight week to the lowest level in almost six months, suggesting a slow economic rebound is reaching U.S. workers.

For the workweek ending Jan. 19, new claims for jobless benefits fell by a seasonally adjusted 15,000 to 376,000, the Labor Department reported.

The week before, new jobless claims dropped 8,000 to 391,000, according to revised figures.

The four-week moving average of claims, which smoothes out week-to-week fluctuations, declined 8,750 to 404,250--the lowest level since Sept. 1.