Dubai – Mubasher: The number of US citizens filing for jobless benefits fell last week, pointing to continued improvement in the labour market despite negative outlook shown by some global agencies towards the US economy.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 263,000 for the week ended Oct. 3, the Labor Department said.

That was the lowest since mid-July when the number of claims was at its lowest since 1973.