U.S. jobs market firming; manufacturing still on the ropes

By Lucia MutikaniWASHINGTON (Reuters) – The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, pointing to labor market strength that keeps Federal Reserve interest rate hikes on the table this year. Other data on Thursday showed factory activity in the mid-Atlantic region contracting at a slower pace in February and hinted at a pick-up in wage growth. But the signs of stabilization in the struggling manufacturing sector were tempered by further declines in n