U.S. weekly jobless claims post largest drop in two years
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Initial claims for state unemployment benefits declined 25,000 to a seasonally adjusted 234,000 for the week ended April 1, the Labor Department said.
The drop was the largest since the week ending April 25, 2015, and unwound recent increases that had lifted claims to a three-month high.
Claims have now been below 300,000, a threshold associated with a healthy labor market, for 109 straight weeks.
That is the longest such stretch since 1970, when the labor market was smaller. The labor market is currently near full employment. ■