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Initial claims for state unemployment benefits
increased 14,000 to a seasonally adjusted 281,000 for the week
ended April 4, the Labor Department said on Thursday.
Claims for the prior week were revised to show 1,000 fewer
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. Claims tend to be volatile around Easter
because of the shifting nature of the holidays.
The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better
measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week
volatility, fell 3,000 to 282,250 last week, the lowest level
since June 2000. Claims below 300,000 are associated with a
strengthening labor market.
Job growth slowed sharply in March, with nonfarm payrolls
increasing by only 126,000, ending a 12-month stretch of
employment gains above 200,000. But with the weakness mostly
concentrated in the weather-sensitive leisure and construction
sectors, economists downplayed the slowdown.
Thursday's claims report showed the number of people still
receiving benefits after an initial week of aid fell 23,000 to
2.30 million in the week ended March 28. That was the lowest
level since December 2000.
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Paul Simao)
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