Jobless claims fall slightly to 230,000, layoffs extremely low

• February 1, 2018
• realestatelife
• Announcements, Business & Markets, Real Estate, Real Estate Finance, Your Real Estate Life

The number of people who applied for unemployment benefits in late January fell by 1,000 to 230,000, keeping initial U.S. jobless claims near a 45-year low.

Economists polled had forecast a 240,000 reading in the seven days ended January 27.

The more stable monthly average of claims fell by 5,000 to 234,500, the government said Thursday.

The number of people already collecting unemployment benefits, known as continuing claims, rose by 13,000 to 1.95 million.