U.S. jobless claims steady in latest week

Tally of aid claims is unchanged from previous week data show

WASHINGTON - Applications for unemployment benefits totaled 311,000 last week, unchanged from the previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

The fact that claims remained at the same level was better than the small increase analysts had been expecting and supported their view that the job market has held up remarkably well in the face of a yearlong economic slowdown.

Claims have fallen in six of the past nine weeks. Those declines followed a period of rising claims which had raised fears that the slowing economy was starting to trigger higher layoffs