By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER, AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — The average number of people seeking unemployment benefits over the past month fell to the lowest level since March 2008, a sign that the job market is healing.
The Labor Department says weekly applications dropped 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 350,000 in the week ended Dec. 22. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, fell to a nearly five-year low of 356,750.
Still, the figures were disrupted by the Christmas holiday. A department spokesman said many state unemployment offices were closed Monday and Tuesday and unable to compile complete data. Fourteen states provided estimates and the department estimated the numbers for five additional states.
The government might estimate one or two states in a typical week, but 19 state estimates are unusually high.
