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Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 3,000
to a seasonally adjusted 270,000 for the week ended Aug. 1, the
Labor Department said on Thursday. Claims for the prior week
were unrevized.
It was the 22nd consecutive week that claims held below the
300,000 threshold, which is associated with a strengthening
labor market. Economists had expected claims to rise to 273,000
last week.
Claims are volatile during the summer when automakers usually
shut assembly plants for annual retooling. Some firms keep
production lines running, which can throw off a model the
government uses to smooth the data for seasonal variations.
However, a Labor Department analyst said there were no special
factors influencing the data and no states had been estimated.
The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better
measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week
volatility, fell 6,500 to 268,250 last week.
The claims data has no bearing on Friday's employment report for
July. According to a Reuters survey of economists, nonfarm
payrolls likely increased by 223,000 last month, matching June's
gain. Though job growth has slowed from last year's brisk pace,
the labor market is approaching full employment.
Last week, the Federal Reserve upgraded its assessment of the
jobs market, describing employment gains as "solid." The Fed,
which is expected to raise interest rates this year for the
first time in nearly a decade, also said labor market slack had
diminished "since early this year."
Thursday's claims report showed the number of people still
receiving benefits after an initial week of aid fell 14,000 to
2.26 million in the week ended July 25.
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Paul Simao)
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