Fewer Americans apply for unemployment benefits last week

FILE - Marriott human resources recruiter Mariela Cuevas, left, talks to Lisbet Oliveros, during a job fair at Hard Rock Stadium, Friday, Sept. 3, 2021, in Miami Gardens, Fla. Last month, U.S. employers might have shed jobs for the first time in about a year, potentially raising alarms about the economy's trajectory. Yet even if the January employment report coming Friday, Feb. 3, 2022, were to show a deep loss of jobs, there would be little mystery about the likely culprit: A wave of omicron wave of infections that led millions of workers to stay home sick, discouraged consumers from venturing out to spend and likely froze hiring at many companies — even those that want to fill jobs. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier, File)

By MATT OTT / AP Business Writer March 3, 2022 2 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – Fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week reflecting a low number of layoffs across the economy.

Jobless claims fell by 18,000 to 215,000 for the week ending February 26, from 233,000 the previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

The four-week average for claims, which compensates for weekly volatility, fell by 6,000 to 230,500.

In total, 1,476,000 Americans were collecting jobless aid the week that ended Feb. 12, a small uptick of 2,000 from the previous week’s revised number, which was its lowest level since March 14, 1970.

First-time applications for jobless aid generally track the pace of layoffs, which are back down to fairly healthy pre-pandemic levels.