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Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 12,000
to a seasonally adjusted 272,000 for the week ended Sept. 23,
the Labor Department said on Thursday. Data for the prior week
was revised to show 1,000 more applications received than
previously reported.
A Labor Department official said Harvey and Irma affected claims
for Texas, Florida, Georgia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
Unadjusted claims for Florida increased by 8,160 last week,
while filings in Texas fell by 8,218. Unadjusted claims for
Georgia rose by 3,157 last week.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims rising to
270,000 in the latest week. The storms have impacted the claims
data in recent weeks and are expected to cut into job growth
this month. Still, the labor market remains strong.
Claims have now been below the 300,000 threshold, which is
associated with a robust labor market, for 134 straight weeks.
That is the longest such stretch since 1970, when the labor
market was smaller.
The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better
measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week
volatility, rose 9,000 to 277,750 last week, the highest level
since February 2016.
Thursday's claims report also showed the number of people still
receiving benefits after an initial week of aid fell 45,000 to
1.93 million in the week ended Sept. 16. The so-called
continuing claims have now been below the 2 million mark for 24
straight weeks, pointing to diminishing labor market slack.
The four-week moving average of continuing claims dropped 2,750
to 1.95 million, remaining below the 2 million level for the
22nd consecutive week. The continuing claims data covered the
survey period for September's employment rate.
The four-week moving average of continuing claims fell 2,500
between the August and September survey weeks, suggesting little
change in the unemployment rate. The jobless rate rose one-tenth
of a percentage point to 4.4 percent in August.
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Paul Simao)
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