US applications for jobless claims hold at healthy levels

U.S. applications for jobless benefits were unchanged last week, settling at a healthy level as the labor market continues to show strength in the face of elevated interest rates.

Unemployment claims for the week ending March 2 were 217,000, matching the previous week's revised level, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

The four-week average of claims, a less volatile measure, fell by 750 from the previous week to 212,250.

Weekly unemployment claims are broadly viewed as representative of the number of U.S. layoffs in a given week. They have remained at historically low levels since the pandemic purge of millions of jobs in the spring of 2020.