US applications for jobless aid fall to four-decade low

Weekly applications for jobless benefits declined to a seasonally adjusted 247,000, the lowest reading since November 1973, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Many analysts are forecasting sluggish growth of less than 1 percent annualized during the first three months of the year, as stock markets and the broader global economy turned volatile.

Despite continued signs of weakness in manufacturing and retail sales slipping in March, a healthy job market should help propel economic growth in the coming months.