U.S. applications for unemployment benefits held steady last week, a sign that the labor market remains healthy as companies continue to retain their employees.

Jobless claims filings ticked down by 1,000 to 224,000 for the week ending March 22, the Labor Department said today. That’s mostly in line with the 225,000 new applications analysts forecast.

Weekly applications for jobless benefits are considered a proxy for layoffs, and have remained mostly in a range between 200,000 and 250,000 for the past few years.

The four-week average, which evens out some of the week-to-week swings, fell by 4,750 to 224,000.

The total number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits for the week of March 15 declined by 25,000 to 1.86 million.