Last week s claims number was a bit better than analysts consensus estimate of 271,000.
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Economists had estimated that initial claims for unemployment insurance rose to 272,000 last week from 267,000 prior, according to Bloomberg.
Jobless claims have held steady over the past several months, with the closely followed four-week moving average hovering between 265,00 and 280,000 since mid April. Some firms keep production lines running, which can throw off a model the government uses to smooth the data for seasonal variations.
The Labor Department said there were no special factors influencing the claims data. The average of new claims over the past month, meanwhile, fell by 6,500 to seasonally adjusted 268,250. The U.S. central bank, which is expected to raise interest rates this year for the first time in almost a decade, also said labour market slack had diminished “since early this year”. Some 2.26 million people were already collecting weekly unemployment benefits, known as continuing claims, in the seven days ended July 25. Companies in the U.S. added 185,000 workers to payrolls in July, after a revised 229,000 increase in June, figures from the ADP Research Institute in Roseland, New Jersey, showed Wednesday.
Slightly more Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, but their numbers remain near historic lows in a sign that the job market is healthy.
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Last week, the Federal Reserve upgraded its assessment of the jobs market, describing employment gains as “solid”. Fed Chair Janet Yellen has said that it may hike rates later this year, which would end an economic stimulus in place since late 2008 that was designed to boost borrowing, spending and investing in the economy.
