US filings for jobless benefits remained in historically healthy range during government shutdown

New U.S. jobless claim applications fell last week, remaining within the healthy range of recent years, according to the government’s first weekly layoffs data since before the government shut down on Oct. 1.

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the week ending Nov. 15 fell by 8,000 from the previous week to 220,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday.