Jobless claims increased by 4,000 to 277,000 in the week ended August 15, a Labor Department report showed Thursday in Washington. The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, rose 5,500 to 271,500 last week.
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The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid rose slightly last week, yet remained at a low level consistent with a solid job market.
Initial claims for unemployment insurance, which are adjusted for seasonal fluctuations, have been running below 300,000 each week since February.
Still, the general trend is toward momentum in the labor market, and if that continues, the Fed could raise interest rates later this year. Bigger advances in wages will be needed in addition to the strengthened job security to help convince consumers to boost spending, which accounts for 70 percent of the economy.
For more, see CNBC’s report.
The U.S. Labor Department is out with another weekly jobless claims reading.
Economists had expected claims to tick down from an unrevised 274,000 the week before to 270,000. The economy had added a healthy average of 211,000 jobs a month so far in 2015, and the U.S.is on track to create more than 2 million new jobs for the fifth year in a row.
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Also, continuing jobless claims totaled 2.25 million in the week ended August. 8, down 20,000 from the start of the month. When they are below a certain threshold-400,000 according to many economists’ rule of thumb-it’s a sign the labor market is stable.
