Initial jobless claims in the US fell for the fourth consecutive week last week, a trend that suggests that labour market conditions are improving as the economy recovers.

First-time claims for unemployment benefits under regular state unemployment benefits fell 29000 to 348000 in the week ended Aug. 14, the lowest since the COVID-19 outbreak, according to data from the Labor Department on Thursday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected the number to fall to 364000.

In the week ended Aug. 7, the number of people claiming unemployment benefits fell to 2.8 million, the lowest level since the outbreak began.

The decline in first-time jobless claims indicates that business operations have strengthened and the number of layoffs has decreased as economic activity has improved. Still, with the spread of Delta mutants, an increase in initial applications in the coming weeks could herald a weakening labour market.

Some states and cities have reintroduced mask rules in recent weeks to cope with the spread of mutated coronavirus strains, and many companies have delayed plans to return to offices. But so far, there is little evidence that the Delta strain has led to layoffs.