Applications for US jobless benefits drop to 287K

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits dropped 8,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 287,000, as the total number of beneficiaries dropped to its lowest level in more than eight years.

The four-week average of applications, a less volatile measure, fell 4,250 to 294,750, the Labor Department said Thursday. Overall, 2.3 million people are receiving jobless aid. That’s the fewest since June 2006, which predates the start of the Great Recession by 18 months.