Washington, Rabi'II 9, 1436, Jan 29, 2015, SPA -- The number of people filing initial applications for U.S. state unemployment benefits fell sharply last week to its lowest level in nearly 15 years, the government reported Thursday, indicating that hiring likely will remain healthy. The Labor Department said jobless claims plunged by 43,000 last week to 265,000, the lowest level since April 2000. It also was the biggest weekly decline in two years. The drop, far bigger than the moderate improvement expected by economists, occurred over a holiday weekend, meaning fewer claims likely were processed. The four-week average of jobless claims—a better measure of labor-market trends because it smoothes weekly volatility—fell 8,250 last week to 298,500. The average has tumbled 11 percent in the last year. The total number of people still receiving unemployment benefits fell 71,000 to 2.39 million last week. So-called continuing claims fell 22,000 between December and January, suggesting another decline in the national unemployment rate, which currently is at a more than 6-year low of 5.6 percent. --SPA 17:54 LOCAL TIME 14:54 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w