Thursday, January 24, 2013 - 10:36
(CNN) — The number of people filing for first-time unemployment benefits fell last week for the second week in a row.
The Department of Labor says 330,000 people filed for first-time jobless claims in the week ending January 19th.
That is down 5,000 compared to the previous week, and marks a new five-year low.
Over the last two weeks, initial claims have plummeted by 45,000.
It is unclear why claims have fallen so dramatically.
But economists point to seasonal distortions in the data.