The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits last week fell to its lowest level in more than a year, highlighting the strength of the labor market. According to the Labor Department, jobless claim applications decreased to 187,000 for the week ending Jan. 13, a drop of 16,000 from the previous week. This is the lowest number since September of 2022. The four-week average of claims, a less volatile measure, also declined by 4,750 to 203,250, marking the lowest four-week average in almost a year. In total, 1.81 million Americans were collecting jobless benefits during the week that ended Jan. 6, a decrease of 26,000 from the previous week. Despite high interest rates and elevated inflation, weekly unemployment claims, which are representative of the number of U.S. layoffs in a week, have remained at low levels. The resilience of the economy and job market have kept the unemployment rate below 4% for 23 consecutive months, the longest such streak since the 1960s.