First-time jobless claims fell 13,000 to 239,000 last week, the Department of Labor reported Wednesday, more than the 9,000 drop economists expected.

With Wednesday's numbers, claims have continued to hover at extremely low levels, despite the fall disruption of the hurricanes that slammed the southeastern U.S. Claims collections in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are still being affected by the storms, the agency said.

Low jobless claims are a good sign for the economy. If fewer people are applying for benefits at state agencies, it suggests that layoffs are relatively rare, and job creation high.

"Claims remain low, even with a modest boost from delayed Hurricane-Maria-related filings in Puerto Rico in recent weeks," noted Jim O'Sullivan, economist for the forecasting group High Frequency Economics. The data continue to signal enough strength in employment growth to keep the unemployment rate trending down."

At 4.1 percent in October, unemployment is the lowest it has been since the year 2000.

Unemployment numbers are released monthly. Jobless claims numbers, though, are published weekly, and are valued by investors and the Federal Reserve as a real-time gauge of the health of the labor market.

The total number of people receiving unemployment benefits, which are available for up to 26 weeks in most states, stayed near the lowest levels in nearly 44 years in early November. Altogether, 1.9 million people collected benefits, a mark of the extent of the labor market recovery.

Low unemployment benefit claims are one of the reasons that Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen has pursued steady, gradual increases in the central bank's target interest rate, even with unemployment running below target for most of the year. Investors expect that the Fed will hike again in December.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration is pursuing major tax-cutting legislation as a way to increase economic growth as the U.S. appears to reach full employment.