By Sharon Nunn and Sarah Chaney 
 

WASHINGTON--The number of Americans filing applications for new unemployment benefits fell last week for the third time in the past four weeks.

Initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs across the U.S., declined by 7,000 to a seasonally adjusted 222,000 in the week ended Feb. 17, the Labor Department said Thursday. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expected 230,000 new claims last week.

Jobless claims have fallen three out of the past four weeks after hitting a nearly 45-year low in January, signaling the labor market's tightness. Weekly jobless claims have held below a healthy 300,000 for about three years, the longest streak since the 1970s.

"Businesses want to retain workers, and the incredibly low level of claims supports that view," Joel Naroff, Naroff Economic Advisors chief economist, said in a note to clients last week.

Still, claims data can be volatile. The four-week moving average, a steadier measure, fell 2,250 to 226,000 last week.

The number of claims workers made for longer than a week also fell, declining to 1,875,000 in the week ended Feb. 10; continuing claims are released with a one-week lag.

The unemployment rate has been parked for months at 4.1%, a 17-year low. Economists expect healthy growth and a further decline in joblessness this year, supported by recent tax cuts.

The Labor Department's latest report on jobless claims can be accessed at: https://www.dol.gov/ui/data.pdf

Write to Sharon Nunn at sharon.nunn@wsj.com and Sarah Chaney at sarah.chaney@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 22, 2018 08:45 ET (13:45 GMT)

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