US jobless claims inch down as labor market remains tight

By MATT OTT
AP Business Writer

The labor market continues to defy the Federal Reserve’s attempts at loosening it, with U.S. applications for unemployment benefits down again last week and remaining at historically low levels. The Labor Department said Thursday that jobless claims in the U.S. for the week ending March 18 fell by 1,000 to 191,000 from the previous week. The four-week moving average of claims, which flattens out some of week-to-week volatility, fell by 250 to 196,250, remaining below the 200,000 threshold for the ninth straight week. Applications for unemployment benefits are seen as a barometer for layoffs in the U.S.