Unemployment benefits claims decline

(CNN)– A new report says first-time claims for unemployment benefits hit a three-month low last week.

The labor department’s update says they were down to 194,000.

That’s an “exceedingly low” number, according to an expert from Oxford Economics.

He says it suggests the unemployment rate will remain stable.

First-time claims are a way to gauge the number of layoffs in the U.S.