U.S. jobless claims have fallen to their lowest level in more than five years, the U.S. government said today.

The U.S. Labor Department said the number of claims for unemployment benefits by recently laid-off workers dipped last week by 35,000 to 291,000. That is the lowest figure since Sept. 23, 2000.

The decline in the number of people filing for benefits was better than market watchers had been expecting, giving more support to the belief the U.S. economy is recovering from the impact of a string of hurricanes that slammed the Gulf coast.

Roughly 600,000 jobs were believed lost over a four-month period in the fallout from hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma.

The December employment reports for both Canada and the United States will be released Friday.