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Initial claims for state unemployment benefits
increased 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 293,000 for the week
ended Sept.20, the Labor Department said on Thursday.
Claims for the prior week were revised to show 1,000 more
applications received than previously reported.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims rising to
300,000 last week.
The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better
measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week
volatility, fell 1,250 to 293,500.
A Labor Department analyst said there were no special factors
influencing the state level data.
Claims are hovering near their pre-recession levels, an
indication that labor market conditions are tightening despite
August's sharp slowdown in job growth.
The jobless claims report showed the number of people still
receiving benefits after an initial week of aid edged up 7,000
to 2.44 million in the week ended Sept. 13.
The data for the so-called continuing claims covered the
household survey week from which the unemployment rate for
September will be calculated.
Continuing claims fell 89,000 between the August and September
survey weeks, suggesting some improvement in the unemployment
rate. The jobless rate was at 6.1 percent in August.
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
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