U.S. Jobless Claims Declined to Fresh Post-1969 Low Last Week

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. filings for unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest in almost five decades, indicating a tight job market, Labor Department figures showed Thursday.

Key Takeaways

Thursday’s figures, coming before the main jobs report is released Friday, show employment continued to improve in late August. Jobless-claims figures can be more volatile around holidays, such as the U.S. Labor Day observed on Monday.

Even so, the figures add to signs businesses are keeping existing staff and adding new workers to help meet demand being boosted by tax cuts in the 10th year of the economic expansion.