Business Highlights

Jobless claims fall, but hiring gains seem far off

WASHINGTON (AP) — Fewer people are claiming unemployment benefits — but still too many to signal that the economy is close to gaining jobs.

First-time claims for jobless benefits dropped last week to a seasonally adjusted 502,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That's the fewest claims since the week ending Jan. 3, and below economists' estimates.

Claims would have to fall to the high 400s to indicate the economy could soon produce even a slight gain in jobs, estimates Abiel Reinhart, an economist at JPMorgan Chase. That level of claims could be reached by January, he said, and the economy should start gaining jobs sometime in the first quarter of 2010.

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Drop in US energy use drags stock market lower

NEW YORK (AP) — A drop in energy stocks dragged the market lower Thursday following a government report that consumers and businesses cut back on their use of oil and gas.