NEW YORK, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- Positive momentum in the U.S. labor market helped offset concerns about lowered forecasts for oil, giving key price indices a lift in early Thursday trading.
The U.S. Labor Department said the number of people filing first-time claims for unemployment dropped 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 275,000 for the week ending Sept. 5. That's the 27th consecutive week first-time claims remained below 300,000, indicating the U.S. labor market may be the strongest it's been since the mid 1970s.