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Initial claims for state unemployment benefits
dropped 20,000 to a seasonally adjusted 268,000 for the week
ended March 28, the Labor Department said on Thursday.
Claims for the prior week were revised to show 6,000 more
applications received than previously reported.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims rising to
285,000 last week.
A Labor Department analyst said there was nothing unusual in the
state-level data. The department made revisions to the model it
uses to adjust the claims data for seasonal fluctuations, which
resulted in revisions to prior figures.
The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better
measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week
volatility, fell 14,750 to 285,500 last week.
The bullish claims report, which has no bearing on March's
employment report as it falls outside the survey period,
bolsters views that the economic slowdown will be temporary.
Nonfarm payrolls likely increased 245,000 last month, with the
unemployment rate holding steady at a more than 6-1/2 year low
of 5.5 percent, according to a Reuters survey of economists.
Although the anticipated increase would be below February's
295,000 jobs, March would mark the 13th straight month of
employment growth above 200,000 - the longest stretch since
1994.
There is, however, a risk of a softer number after a report on
Wednesday showed that private payrolls gains in March were the
smallest since January 2014.
Thursday's claims report showed the number of people still
receiving benefits after an initial week of aid fell 88,000 to
2.33 million in the week ended March 21. That was the lowest
reading since December 2000.
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