by cynthianews

New claims for US unemployment benefits fell last week, hovering at four-year lows as the ailing labor continues to mend, government data showed Thursday.

The Labor Department reported 357,000 initial jobless claims were filed in the week ending March 31, the lowest level since April 2008.

It was a decrease of 6,000 from the prior week’s upwardly revised 363,000. But analysts had expected a sharper fall, to 355,000 claims.