The number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits last week fell to the lowest level since mid-May.

The weekly jobless claims report from the Labor Department on Thursday, the most timely data on the economy's health, also showed jobless rolls shrunk to levels last seen in early June.

WASHINGTON >> The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits dropped to a four-month low last week, indicating solid job growth in September and confirming that the economy continued to expand in the third quarter.