New applications for US jobless benefits tumbled by 24,000 last week to a much lower-than-expected 351,000, but the number remaining on jobless aid stood at the highest level in nearly two and a half years, a Labour Department report on Thursday showed.
Economists were expecting initial jobless claims to fall to a seasonally adjusted 360,000 for the week ended March 1, from 375,000 the prior week, revised up from 373,000.
But the number of workers remaining on jobless benefits still stood at the highest level since the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. These continued claims rose to 2.83 million for the week ended February 23, the most recent week these figures were available, from 2.80 million.