By Jeffry Bartash
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The number of people applying for new U.S. unemployment benefits fell by 10,000 to 332,000 in the week ended March 9, marking the second lowest level in five years and indicating that the labor market continues to improve. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected claims to rise to a seasonally adjusted 350,000 from a revised 342,000 in the prior week. The average of new claims over the past month, which smoothes out weekly volatility, declined by 2,750 to 346,750, the Labor Department said Thursday. That's the lowest level in five years. Also, Labor said continuing claims decreased by 89,000 to a seasonally adjusted 3.02 million in the week ended March 2. Continuing claims reflect the number of people already receiving benefits. Initial claims from two weeks ago, meanwhile, were revised up by 2,000 from an original reading of 340,000, based on more complete data collected at the state level. Labor officials said there were no unusual factors in the latest claims report and that all states provided their data on time.
