n this Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2013 photo, job seekers check out companies at a job fair in Miami Lakes, Fla. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits dropped 9,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 323,000, near the lowest level since June 2008. The figure shows employers are laying off fewer and fewer workers, an encouraging sign one day before the government will issue its August jobs report.

Weekly applications are just 1,000 above a five-year low reached last month, the Labor Department said Thursday. The four week average, a less volatile measure, declined 3,000 to 328,500. That’s the lowest point since October 2007.

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