The number of Americans applying for U.S. unemployment benefits dropped by 8,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 287,000, for the week ending Sept. 27, according to the Labor Department on Thursday. The drop in benefit applications marks the lowest level in more than eight years and might be a sign the labor market is stabilizing.

The national unemployment rate is 6.3 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Yuma, Arizona and El Centro, California have the highest unemployment rates at 28.0 percent and 25.1 percent. Bismarck, North Dakota had the lowest rate at 2.2 percent.

Over 2.4 million people are receiving unemployment benefits, the lowest level for insured unemployment recipients since June 2006.

The largest increases in claims for the week ending Sept. 20 were in California (+8,830), Michigan (+1,994), Kentucky (+516), Delaware (+412, and Arizona (+201), while the largest decreases were in New York (-3,059), Missouri (-1,792), Georgia (-1,011), Pennsylvania (-829), and Oregon (-828).

New York had a fewer layoffs in construction, manufacturing, transportation and warehousing industries, and Michigan's losses were in the wholesale trade industry.

Thursday's data is "consistent with the continued, solid performance in the labor market," Keith Hembre, chief economist at Nuveen Asset Management in Minneapolis told Reuters.

The Labor Department said there were no special factors influencing the state level data. Futures for U.S. stock prices edged lower following the data.

"Payrolls grew by 215,000 in September after 142,000 the prior month," according to a Bloomberg survey.

Separate data showed U.S. small businesses hiring more workers than in the past eight months further evidence of strength in the labor market. The National Federation of Independent Business said its monthly survey of its members found they added an average of 0.24 workers per firm last month, on a seasonally adjusted basis.

"Fifty percent of the owners hired or tried to hire in the last three months and 42 percent (84 percent of those trying to hire or hiring) reported few or no qualified applicants for open positions," said William C. Dunkelberg, Chief economist for the National Federation of Independent Business.

AP polled voters about their major concerns going into the mid-term election -- 92 percent of likely voters called the economy an extremely or very important issue.