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Applications for US jobless aid fall to 278,000

In this Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2016, photo, Nicole Kelly, left, interviews Angelo Falcone, 32, for a bartender job at a job fair held by The Genuine Hospitality Group, in Miami. The restaurant group is expanding in South Florida and is hiring for all positions at its restaurants. On Thursday, Jan. 28, the Labor Department reports on the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits a week earlier. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) In this Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2016, photo, Nicole Kelly, left, interviews Angelo Falcone, 32, for a bartender job at a job fair held by The Genuine Hospitality Group, in Miami. The restaurant group is expanding in South Florida and is hiring for all positions at its restaurants. On Thursday, Jan. 28, the Labor Department reports on the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits a week earlier. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

By Associated Press January 28, 2016 1 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – The number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell last week, a sign that employers aren’t cutting jobs in response to global economic weakness and sharp stock market drops.

The Labor Department says weekly applications for jobless aid fell 16,000 to a seasonally adjusted 278,000. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, dropped 2,250 to 283,000.

Applications are a proxy for layoffs, and the decline suggests that businesses remain confident enough in future economic growth to hold onto their staffs.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve pointed to weaker U.S. growth and indicated it might slow its pace of interest rate increases this year.