Unemployment claims continue to fall as states slash extra benefits

The number of Americans seeking new unemployment benefits continued to drop last week, the feds said Thursday, as a slew of states move to slash the pandemic-boosted payments.

Initial worker filings for jobless claims, seen as a signal of layoffs, reached 444,000 last week, down from a revised total of 478,000 reported the prior week, according to data released Thursday by the Labor Department. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected 452,000 new jobless claims.