Job-seekers, including Sophonias Gizaw, center, of Seattle, wait in line to attend a job fair, in Tacoma, Wash. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits fell by 4,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 323,000, a five-year low. Layoffs have returned to pre-recession levels, a trend that could lead to more hiring.

The Labor Department said Thursday that the less volatile four-week average dropped 6,250 to 336,750. That the fewest since November 2007, one month before the Great Recession began.

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