Fewer Filing Claims for Unemployment Benefits

(CN) - Fewer Americans sought unemployment benefits last week, a sign that employers are keeping the workers they have and are looking to hire more.

The Labor Department said Thursday that weekly applications for unemployment benefits fell 3,000 to 258,000.

Applications have been below 300,000 for 86 straight weeks, the longest streak since 1970.

Currently, just over 2 million in the U.S. are receiving unemployment payments, the fewest since June 2000, the department said.

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