File – A help-wanted sign hangs in the front window of the Bar Harbor Tea Room, Saturday, June 11, 2022, in Bar Harbor, Maine. On Thursday, the Labor Department reports on the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits last week. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people seeking unemployment benefits in the U.S. reached a four-month low last week, a sign that employers are holding on to their workers despite the Federal Reserve’s efforts to slow the economy and tamp down inflation. The Labor Department said Thursday that the number of Americans applying for jobless aid for the week ending Jan. 14 fell by 15,000 to 190,000, from 205,000 the week before. The four-week moving average of claims declined by 6,500 to 206,000. About 1.65 million people were receiving jobless aid the week that ended Jan. 7, an increase of 17,000 from the week before.