Applications for jobless benefits fall to 205,000 as layoffs remain historically low

U.S. applications for unemployment benefits fell last week, remaining in the same range of recent years despite a broadly tepid labor market

WASHINGTON -- U.S. applications for unemployment benefits fell last week, remaining in the same range of recent years despite a broadly tepid labor market.

The number of Americans filing for jobless aid for the week ending March 14 fell by 8,000 from the previous week to 205,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s fewer than the 215,000 new filings analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet were expecting.

Filings for unemployment benefits are viewed as a proxy for U.S. layoffs and are close to a real-time indicator of the health of the job market.

While weekly layoffs have remained in a healthy range mostly between 200,000 and 250,000 for the past few years, a number of high-profile companies have announced job cuts recently, including Morgan Stanley,Block, UPSand Amazon.

Earlier this month, the Labor Department reported that U.S. employers unexpectedly cut 92,000 jobs in February, a sign that the labor market remains under strain. Revisions also slashed 69,000 jobs from December and January payrolls, nudging the unemployment rate up to 4.4%.