The positive news about the economy continues, as the Labor Department announces Thursday that the number of people seeking unemployment benefits falls to its lowest level in four years.

This is the fourth drop in five weeks. The average has fallen nearly 13 percent in the last year, an indicator that hiring is increasing while fewer are being let go.

The number of unemployment applications has fallen to 365,250, well below the 375,000 threshold experts say signals hiring is strong enough to lower the unemployment rate.

This comes as Democrats and Republicans reach a deal that will extend jobless benefits, which had been set to expire March 1.

Experts say that while the economy is growing--very slowly--in the right direction, the national workforce still has a ways to go in order to reach pre-recession levels.