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Fewer Americans applied for jobless benefits last week

In this Wednesday, March 30, 2016, photo, Alice Price, educational outreach specialist for adult and graduate studies at Geneva College, speaks with a visitor to her table at a job fair in Pittsburgh. On Thursday, June 9, 2016, the Labor Department reports on the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits a week earlier. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) In this Wednesday, March 30, 2016, photo, Alice Price, educational outreach specialist for adult and graduate studies at Geneva College, speaks with a visitor to her table at a job fair in Pittsburgh. On Thursday, June 9, 2016, the Labor Department reports on the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits a week earlier. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

By Associated Press June 9, 2016 2 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – Fewer Americans sought unemployment benefits last week, a sign that employers are hanging on to workers despite a sluggish economy.

THE NUMBERS: The Labor Department said Thursday that weekly applications for unemployment aid fell by 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 264,000. The less volatile four-week average dropped by 7,500 to 269,500.

Weekly jobless claims have come in below the historically low level of 300,000 for 66 straight weeks, the longest such streak since 1973.

The total number of people collecting unemployment benefits slipped below 2.1 million last week to the lowest level since 2000; it’s down 7.5 percent from a year ago.

THE TAKEAWAY: Applications for unemployment aid are a proxy for layoffs, so the jobless claims figures suggest employees are enjoying job security despite a recent slowdown in hiring.