Washington, DC, June 15, 2006--First-time applications for unemployment benefits dropped by 8,000 to 295,000 in the week ending June 10, the Labor Department said Thursday.
It's the lowest level of new claims since mid-February. Initial claims have fallen by 42,000 in the past two weeks.
The four-week average of new claims dropped by 12,250 to 315,750, the lowest in six weeks.
Meanwhile, the number of people collecting unemployment checks climbed by 15,000 to 2.425 million in the week ending June 3. It's the highest level of continuing claims in six weeks.
