Initial claims for jobless benefits fell sharply last week to their lowest level in 14 years as the labor market continued to show signs of improvement despite global economic problems.

The number of people filing for first-time unemployment benefits dropped to 264,000, down 23,000 from the previous week’s revised figure, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The number of claims last week beat the previous post-Great Recession low of 279,000, reached in July.

At the depths of the downturn, in late 2008 through mid-2009, initial jobless claims were running at twice the current level.


Economists had expected claims to rise slightly last week. Instead, they were at their lowest point since April 2000, the Labor Department said.

The four-week average, which smooths out some of the volatility in the closely watched figures, also fell to its lowest level since 2000. Claims averaged 283,500 during that period.

The upbeat jobs data came after some weak economic figures Wednesday, including a 0.3% drop in retail sales in September, helped fuel a steep financial markets sell-off.

With oil prices falling amid concerns about instability in the Middle East and the effects of the Ebola outbreak, some analysts speculated the Federal Reserve might further delay hiking interest rates from their near-zero level.


Lindsey Piegza, chief economist at brokerage Sterne Agee, said the drop in jobless claims was impressive. But she noted the weekly figure is volatile and the drop in recent months “hasn’t yet translated into high-wage, full-time employment.”

“Looking at the continuing weakness in the consumer sector, slowing activity levels in manufacturing, and a growing threat of disinflation, such a scenario is hardly indicative of a strong economy with a Fed poised to raise rates any time soon,” she said.

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