U.S. weekly fillings for unemployment benefits declined to its lowest level in five years as a sign of recovering domestic economy and labor market, the Labor Department reported on Thursday. Initial jobless claims for state benefits declined 37,000 and fell to a seasonally adjusted 335,000 the lowest figure since January 2008, and created the largest drop in a one-week period since February 2010.
"Having taken a pinch of salt, however, we would suggest that the trend in claims generally show no pickup in layoff activity around the turn of the year," said John Ryding, chief economist at RDQ Economics in New York.