Though the numbers are consistent with a labor market that's growing slightly better, the U.S. jobless claims rose above current estimates in a new report. The number increased by 3,000 above the 270,000 adjustment made by Labor Department officials last week, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Claims fell as low as 255,000 in July, the lowest since 1973. The average amount of claims since April of 2014 has been 285,000. Though the numbers look grim, they actually suggest that the labor market is improving in some ways. Unemployment fell to 5.3 percent in June, the Wall Street Journal reported.
"Claims are running at a pace consistent with monthly job growth of better than 200,000," Gus Faucher, senior economist with PNC, said.
The July employment report will be released by the Labor Department on Friday.
For 22 consecutive weeks, jobless claims have been below 300,000, according to CNBC. This indicates that unemployment rates are leveling out and the economy is improving.
The Federal Reserve assessed the job market as "solid" just last week, according to the Fiscal Times. This is encouraging news to the people around the country who are still struggling with unemployment.
