New US claims for unemployment benefits fell to a fresh four-year low last week, according to a government report that showed healing in the labour market.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 359,000, the lowest level since April 2008, the Labor Department said yesterday.

The four-week moving average for new claims, a measure of labour market trends, declined 3,500 to 365,000.

Employers added 227,000 jobs to their payrolls in February, taking the tally for the past three months to 734,000.

A total of 7.153 million people were claiming unemployment benefits during the week ended March 10th, down 131,488 from the prior week. – (Reuters)