The number of Americans claiming first-time unemployment benefits fell unexpectedly last week to its lowest level in 17 months, the US government said today.
New claims for state unemployment insurance - a rough guide to the pace of US layoffs - dropped by 21,000 in the week ending July 20th to 362,000 from a revised 383,000 in the prior week, the Labor Department said.
The closely watched four-week moving average of claims, which smoothes weekly fluctuations, fell by 7,500 to 384,500 last week from a revised 392,000 a week earlier.
The last time the average was lower was March of last year - the month the United States tumbled into recession.