U.S. applications for jobless benefits fall again last week

The number of Americans filing for jobless aid fell last week as the labor market remains resilient in the face of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate increases meant to cool the economy. Applications for unemployment benefits in the U.S. for the week ending Feb. 18 fell by 3,000 last week to 192,000, from 195,000 the previous week. It’s the sixth straight week claims were under 200,000. Applications for unemployment benefits are considered a proxy for the number layoffs in the U.S. About 1.65 million people were receiving jobless aid the week that ended Feb. 11, a decrease of 37,000 from the week before.