U.S. weekly jobless claims bounce back from 48-year low

[March 08, 2018]  WASHINGTON, (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rebounded last week from a more than 48-year low, but the trend continued to point to robust labor market conditions.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 21,000 to a seasonally adjusted 231,000 for the week ended March 3, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Claims dropped to 210,000 in the prior week, which was the lowest level since December 1969.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims rising to 220,000 in the latest week. It was the 157th straight week that claims remained below the 300,000 threshold, which is associated with a strong labor market. That is the longest such stretch since 1970, when the labor market was much smaller.

Federal Reserve officials consider the labor market to be near or a little beyond full employment. The jobless rate is at a 17-year low of 4.1 percent.

The claims data has no impact on February's employment report, which is scheduled for release on Friday, as it falls outside the survey period. Claims mostly declined in February, leading economists to expect another month of strong job growth.

According to a Reuters survey of economists, the Labor Department's closely followed employment report will likely show that nonfarm payrolls increased by 200,000 jobs last month, matching January's gains. The unemployment rate is forecast falling one-tenth of a percentage point to 4.0 percent, which would be the lowest level since December 2000.

 Job seekers line up to apply for jobs at the Amazon.com Fulfillment Center in Fall River, Massachusetts, U.S., August 2, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo

The Labor Department said claims for Maine and Colorado were estimated last week. It also said claims-taking procedures in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands had still not returned to normal, months after the territories were slammed by Hurricanes Irma and Maria.

The four-week moving average of initial claims, viewed as a better measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, rose 2,000 to 222,500 last week.

The claims report also showed the number of people receiving benefits after an initial week of aid decreased 64,000 to 1.87 million in the week ended Feb. 24. The four-week moving average of the so-called continuing claims fell 14,250 to 1.91 million.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci)

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