The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits increased last week but still held below 300,000 for the 16th straight week, a threshold usually associated with a firming labor market.
Jobless claims rose by 3,000 to 271,000 in the week ending June 20, the Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims reported. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected 273,000 new applications, which is 2,000 more than what actually occurred.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims rising to 272,000 last week, according to Newsmax. A Labor department analyst said there was nothing unusual in the state-level data.
The average of new claims over the past month fell by 3,250 to a seasonally adjusted 273,750. The four-week average smooths out sharp fluctuations seen in the weekly report and is considered a more accurate predictor of labor-market checks, according to Bloomberg.
The labor market is tightening, with the unemployment rate not too far from the 5.0 percent to 5.2 percent range that most Federal Reserve officials consider consistent with full employment.
Furthermore, job growth is picking up, with (nonfarm) payrolls increasing in May.
Thursday's claims report showed that the number of people receiving benefits after an initial week of aid increase by 22,000 to 2.25 million in the week ending June 13. The continuing claims data covered the period during the time when the government surveyed households for June's unemployment rate.
Little change was noted between the May and June survey periods with on-going claims rising by 14,500. The unemployment rate was 5.5 percent in May.
