Initial claims for jobless benefits fell by 15,000 to 234,000 in the week ending January 14, seasonally adjusted. The figure, which can show big swings week to week, was 18,000 below an analyst consensus forecast.
The data for the latest week continued a nearly two-year streak of jobless claims below 300,000, something not seen since the early 1970s.
The less volatile four-week moving average fell to 246,750, down 10,250 from the previous four-week period, and the lowest since November 1973.
New claims for jobless benefits often are used to gauge the prevalence of layoffs and the health of labor markets.