Jobless claims fall for second straight week

WASHINGTON (AP) — Fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits for the second week in a row after three straight weeks of increases. The Labor Department reported Thursday (Feb. 3, 2022) that jobless claims fell by 23,000 to 238,000 last week, from 261,000 the previous week. The four-week average for claims, which compensates for weekly volatility, rose by nearly 8,000 to 255,000. In total, 1.6 million Americans were collecting jobless aid the week that ended Jan. 22, 2022, a slight drop from the previous week.