Jobless claims stay low ... Productivity falls ... Air bag issue

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WASHINGTON (AP) — A positive sign for the job market. More Americans sought unemployment benefits last week, but applications stayed near historically low levels. The Labor Department says weekly applications for jobless aid rose 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 285,000. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, increased slightly to 284,750.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. productivity fell sharply in the final three months of 2015, closing out a fifth straight year of weak gains in worker efficiency. The Labor Department says productivity, the amount of output per hour of work, fell at an annual rate of 3 percent in the fourth quarter. It was the biggest quarterly decline in nearly two years.

DETROIT (AP) — Another problem has developed with automotive air bags, this one resulting in recalls of 5 million vehicles. Continental Automotive Systems says that moisture can get inside its air bag control computers, causing the power supplies to corrode and fail. If that happens, air bags may not inflate in a crash or they could deploy without a crash.

LONDON (AP) — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says he'll allow himself to be arrested if a U.N. working group decides the three years he has spent inside the Ecuadorean Embassy in London doesn't amount to illegal detention. British police say nothing has changed regarding Assange's situation, and that officers will still seek to arrest him if he leaves the embassy.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A spokeswoman for Donald Trump's campaign says "a minor mechanical issue" caused the Republican candidate's plane to be diverted to the Nashville International Airport. Media reports say the Boeing 757 made the unscheduled stop yesterday after the control tower received a report that the plane was experiencing engine trouble.