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Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 4,000
to a seasonally adjusted 277,000 for the week ended Aug. 15, the
Labor Department said on Thursday.
Claims for the prior week were revised to show 1,000 fewer
applications received than previously reported. Economists had
forecast claims slipping to 272,000 last week.
A Labor Department analyst said there were no special factors
influencing the data and no states had been estimated.
Minutes from the Fed's July 28-29 policy meeting published on
Wednesday showed the central bank upbeat on improving labor
market conditions, but worried about persistently tame inflation
and a weak global economy.
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.
It was the 21st straight week that the four-week average
remained below the 300,000 threshold, which is usually
associated with a strengthening labor market.
The claims data covered the week that the government surveyed
employers for the non-farm payrolls portion of August's
employment report. The four-week average of claims fell 7,000
between the July and August survey periods, suggesting another
month of healthy job gains.
Payrolls increased by 215,000 jobs in July. So far this year,
job gains have exceeded 200,000 in five out of seven months. At
a seven-year low of 5.3 percent, the unemployment rate is near
the 5.0 percent to 5.2 percent range that most Fed officials
think is consistent with full employment.
Thursday's claims report showed the number of people still
receiving benefits after an initial week of aid fell 24,000 to
2.25 million in the week ended Aug. 8.
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Paul Simao)
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