Number of Americans Filing for Unemployment Benefits Remains Low

March 14th, 9:00 PM EDT

By NEWSnet Digital Team

Unemployment application.

MGN

(NEWSnet/AP) – The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits last week inched upward, but stayed at a historically low level.

U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday that filings for unemployment claims for the week ending March 9 was down by 1,000, to 209,000, from the previous week’s 208,000.

The four-week average of claims came in at 208,000, a decrease of 500 from the previous week.

About 1.8 million Americans were collecting jobless benefits during the week that ended March 2, an increase of 17,000 from the previous week. Last week’s number, which had been the most since November, was revised downward by 112,000.

In February, U.S. employers added 275,000 jobs, considered a surprisingly high number.

The unemployment rate climbed two-tenths of a point in February, to 3.9%. Though that was the highest rate in two years, it is still low by historic standards. It marked the 25th straight month in which joblessness has remained below 4%, the longest such streak since the 1960s.

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