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Initial claims for state unemployment benefits
increased 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 295,000 for the week
ended April 18, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Claims
for the prior week were unrevised.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims slipping to
290,000 last week. A Labor Department analyst said there was
nothing unusual in the state-level data.
Claims tend to be volatile around this time of the year because
moving holidays like Easter and school spring breaks often throw
off the model that the government uses to smooth the data for
seasonal fluctuations.
The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better
measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week
volatility, increased 1,750 last week to 284,500. Claims below
300,000 are associated with a strengthening labor market.
The data covered the period during which the government
canvassed employers for April's nonfarm payrolls report. The
four-week average of claims fell 20,750 between the March and
April survey periods, suggesting an acceleration in job growth.
Employment growth slowed sharply in March, with nonfarm payrolls
increasing by only 126,000, ending a 12-month stretch of gains
above 200,000. But with the weakness mostly concentrated in the
weather-sensitive leisure and construction sectors, economists
downplayed the slowdown.
Thursday's claims report showed the number of people still
receiving benefits after an initial week of aid increased 50,000
to 2.33 million in the week ended April 11.
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Paul Simao)
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