By Ruth Mantell
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The number of people who applied for regular state unemployment-insurance benefits ticked down 4,000 to 323,000 in the week ending May 4, hitting the lowest level since January 2008, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected initial claims to rise slightly to 335,000 from an original estimate of 324,000 for the prior week, echoing softness in other recent labor-market data. Recent readings on initial claims signal little change in the pace of layoffs. The four-week average of new jobless claims fell 6,250 to 336,750, hitting the lowest level since November 2007, near the start of the recession. The government also reported Thursday that continuing claims for jobless benefits dropped 27,000 to a seasonally adjusted 3.01 million in the week ended April 27, reaching the lowest level since May 2008. The four-week average of these claims from people already receiving benefits fell 24,500 to 3.03 million, the lowest since June 2008.
