ECONOMY

Jobless Claims at 6-Month Low: The number of Americans seeking jobless benefits for the first time dropped by 6,000 last week. “Even though we continue to get a long list of layoff announcements, nonetheless the job market is improving,” said economist Bruce Steinberg of Merrill Lynch & Co.The Labor Department reported that 325,000 newly laid-off workers filed initial applications for unemployment insurance, down from 331,000 during the week ended Aug. 7. It was the third straight decline. 13.