WASHINGTON — Slightly more Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week. But the overall level stayed low enough to suggest the job market is strengthening. The Labor Department said Thursday that weekly applications increased by 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted ...

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ANNAPOLIS — People who leave a job to escape domestic violence would be eligible for unemployment benefits under a measure coming before Maryland lawmakers. Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown is scheduled to testify in favor of the legislation Tuesday in front ...

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WASHINGTON — The number of people seeking unemployment benefits rose last week to a seasonally adjusted 377,000, up from a nearly four-year low the previous week. But the longer-term trend is pointing to a healthier job market. Applications have trended ...

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WASHINGTON — Applications for weekly unemployment benefits spiked last week, largely because companies let go of thousands of workers after the holiday season. Weekly applications rose by 24,000 to a seasonally adjusted 399,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s the ...

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The long-suffering job market is ending the year better off than it began. The number of people applying for unemployment benefits each week has dropped by 10 percent since January. The unemployment rate, 8.6 percent in November, ...

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WASHINGTON — Consumers spent at a lackluster rate in November as their incomes barely grew, suggesting that Americans may struggle to keep spending more into 2012. Consumer spending rose just 0.1 percent in November, matching the modest October increase, the Commerce ...

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WASHINGTON — In in the latest sign that the U.S. economy is surging at year’s end, unemployment claims have dropped to the lowest level since April 2008, long before anyone realized that the nation was in a recession. Claims fell ...

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WASHINGTON — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits dropped last week to its lowest level since April 2008, extending a downward trend that shows the job market strengthening. First-time applications for unemployment benefits fell 4,000 to a seasonally ...

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WASHINGTON — The number of people applying for unemployment benefits dropped to the lowest level since May 2008, a hopeful sign that layoffs are declining and hiring is picking up. The Labor Department said Thursday that weekly applications fell by ...

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WASHINGTON — The U.S. trade deficit narrowed in October to its lowest point of the year after Americans bought fewer foreign cars and imported less oil. The shrinking trade gap boosted growth over the summer and may do so again ...

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