Claims for jobless benefits expectedly dropped last week to the lowest level in four years, showing the U.S. job market is on the mend. Applications (INJCJC) for unemployment insurance payments decreased 13,000 in the week ended Feb. 11 to 348,000, less than the lowest forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News and the fewest since March 2008, Labor Department figures showed today. The median survey estimate projected an increase to 365,000. The slowdown in dismissals coincides with a pickup in hiring and a drop in unemployment that’s helping repair a labor market still recovering from the 18-month recession ... (full story)