WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The number of people applying for new unemployment benefits fell by 8,000 to 287,000 in the last week of September, offering yet another sign that layoffs remain low and the labor market continues to improve.

Initial jobless claims have been below the key 300,000 mark for three straight weeks and five of the last seven, according to Labor Department data issued Thursday.

The decline in claims offers a bit of good news to investors after jitters about the global economy sent U.S. stocks lower in Wednesday action. Economists polled by MarketWatch expected claims to rise to a seasonally adjusted 298,000 in the week of Sept. 21 to Sept. 27.

“Claims remain at low levels consistent with an improving labor market,” said Derek Lindsey, an economist at BNP Paribas.

The average of new claims over the past month fell by 4,250 to 294,750 — just a hair above an eight-year low. The four-week average reduces seasonal volatility in the weekly data and is seen as a more accurate barometer of labor-market trends.

Jobless claims are a good measure of whether layoffs are rising or falling. The number of layoffs announced in September fell to the lowest level in 14 years, according to the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas. U.S.-based employers announced workforce reductions totaling 30,477.

As the fourth quarter begins, the firm said, 2014 is on pace to post the fewest amount of layoffs since 1997.

Initial claims are now close to the smallest levels the economy has experienced since 1980, so they probably can’t go much lower. Since 1980 initial claims have only fallen under 300,000 about 5.7% of the time.

Still, changes in the number of people seeking benefits tend to correlate over time with how many jobs the economy is producing, and other broad-based employment indicators from private and public sources show that hiring is at the strongest level in years.

The payroll-processing firm ADP, for instance, reported on Wednesday that 213,000 private-sector jobs were created in September. What’s more, the federal government on Friday is expected to report that the U.S. added a net 220,000 jobs last month.

Even with improved job growth, however, the labor market is not as strong as it typically is when jobless claims are so low. U.S. unemployment stood at 6.1% in August, well above the 4.8% rate that prevailed the last time the four-week average of claims was at the same level as it is now.

What’s more, the number of people who want to work but can’t find a full-time job remains elevated historically — it’s still higher than at any time before the 2007-2009 recession began.

Meanwhile, Labor said continuing claims decreased by 45,000 to a seasonally adjusted 2.39 million in the week ended Sept 20. That’s the smallest amount since June 2006. Continuing claims reflect the number of people already receiving benefits.

Initial claims from two weeks ago were revised up to 295,000 from 293,000, based on more complete data collected at the state level.