Jobless claims fall to 2-month low

The number of laid-off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits fell last week by the sharpest amount in nearly two months, indicating a healthy U.S. labor market despite the sluggish economy.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that applications for jobless benefits totaled 321,000 last week, 20,000 fewer than the previous week.

That was the biggest decline in claims in nine weeks and was more than double what economists had expected. Analysts said part of the improvement reflected trouble adjusting the weekly claims data around Easter, which does not fall in the same week every year.

It was the second consecutive weekly decline after the claims data had hit a two-month high, a jump blamed on seasonal adjustment problems around Easter.

California had the largest decline in claims of any state with a drop of 5,309, which was attributed to fewer layoffs in service industries.

The number of laid-off workers receiving unemployment benefits totaled 2.59 million for the week ended April 14. That was the highest level since the week of Feb. 17.

The U.S. economy has grown at sub-par rates for the last year. But that weakness has not led to widespread layoffs, in part because consumer demand has stayed strong despite the troubles in housing and parts of manufacturing.

Many analysts believe that the jobless rate will start rising slightly in the coming months because of the sluggish economy and a slowdown in corporate earnings.

The government planned a release this morning of its first estimate of economic growth in the January-March quarter.

Analysts expected that report would show the gross domestic product was growing at an annual rate of just 1.8%, the weakest since late 2005, when the country struggled in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.