Fewer Americans than forecast filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, a sign that a steady labor market will bolster USA growth.
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A report on Thursday from the U.S. Labor Department showed weekly claims rising by 3,000 claims to some 267,000.
Economists had expected the figure to come in at 275,000.
The four-week moving average decreased by 750 to 271,750.
Claims are staying close to historically low level due to employers retaining workers to help with sales growth.
“These readings suggest no significant change in the continuing low level of layoff activity”, said John Hoff, an economist at the Royal Bank of Scotland. The unemployment rate has fallen to 5.1 percent, a seven-year low.
The number of people receiving benefits was essentially unchanged at 2.24 million.
Initial jobless claims include weekly firing and a low level of sustained applications had typically coincided with quicker job gains.
The job market’s recovery is a key reason Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen has indicated that the Fed may raise short-term interest rates by the end of this year.
Continuing claims are reported with a one-week lag, and 24/7 Wall St. refers to this figure as the army of the unemployed.
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Analysts said the data are consistent with the gradually improving labour market seen in most of 2015. The Fed decided against raising rates at its meeting last week, citing too-low inflation and economic turmoil overseas.
