Fewer people sign up for jobless claims

Applications for aid down 2,000 — good sign for labor market

WASHINGTON - Fewer people signed up for jobless benefits last week, an encouraging sign that businesses aren’t taking major steps to scale back their work forces amid the ill effects of the housing slump and a painful credit crunch.

The Labor department reported Thursday that new applications filed for unemployment insurance dipped by 2,000 to 322,000 for the week ending Aug. 18. It marked the first drop in new claims in roughly a month.

The showing was a bit higher than the 320,000 analysts were forecasting. Still, the level of claims suggested that the employment climate remains in fairly good shape despite problems in housing, tighter credit, and turmoil on Wall Street in recent weeks.