US Jobless Claims Declined Last Week to Lowest Since January

Employees assemble handbags at a manufacturing facility in the Brooklyn borough of New York.Photographer: Michael Nagle

Applications for US unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level since January, adding to evidence of limited layoffs.

Initial claims decreased by 8,000 to 205,000 in the week ended March 14, according to Labor Department data released Thursday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 215,000 applications.