Fewer people applied for unemployment benefits last week in US

Fewer people applied for US unemployment benefits last week. Economy experts said this is an indication that strong hiring continues despite signs of slower economic growth at the start of 2015.

The Labor Department on Thursday said that weekly applications for unemployment aid dropped 9,000 to a seasonally adjusted 282,000.

The decrease suggests that a recent slowdown in manufacturing, housing starts and retail sales has so far not hit the job market. This is an indication that economic growth will rebound after a harsh winter.

The four-week average, a less volatile measure, tumbled 7,750 to 297,000. Over the past 12 months, the average has dipped roughly 7%.

The applications recovered are either proxy or layoffs. The low average shows that employers are holding on to workers and may increase the number of hiring. Applications below 300,000 are generally consistent with solid monthly job gains.

Raymond Stone, managing director at Stone & McCarthy Research Associates in Princeton, NJ, said, "If we continue to see claims down here, you can expect to see more payroll gains. The good, strong gains we've seen in payrolls will continue".

It is said that the economy was slowed down during February. Factories cranked out very few long-lasting good, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

They further told that builders broke grounds on fewer homes in the previous month, whereas retail spending dropped.

All that the report indicated was growth will dramatically go down compared to its annual average of 2.2% during the final three months of last year.

The Atlanta Federal Reserve forecasts that first-quarter growth will be at an annualized rate of 0.2%. Private firm Macroeconomic Advisers was more optimistic Tuesday, estimating growth of 1.4%.