Still at a consistent low, Americans requesting unemployment aid rose slightly last week, according to the Associated Press.
Labor Department data shows that the number of unemployment applications filed rose by 4,000 last week, bringing the seasonal number to 277,000 in the week ending Aug. 15, according to the AP.
This is the fourth week in a row that these claims continue to increase, a trend that hasn't happened since August 2010, according to CNBC. It was also, however, the 21st straight week that the four-week average remained below the 300,000 mark.
The job market still shows signs of improving, the number of firings still low while job gains continue to rise, according to Bloomberg.
Ryan Wang, an economist at HSBC Securities USA Inc., weighed in on the report, saying that claims are "still close to their lowest level in several decades, and that's a good sign. It's a stable, low level of claims," according to Bloomberg.
Even with the rise, layoffs are at their lowest levels in 15 years. Two weeks prior, the four-week average was at its lowest since April 2010, according to the AP.
In the week ending Aug. 8, the number of people receiving unemployment benefits declined by 24,000 to 2.24 million, according to Bloomberg.
