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Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 3,000
to a seasonally adjusted 269,000 for the week ended July 30, the
Labor Department said on Thursday. Claims for the prior week
were unrevised.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast initial claims edging
down to 265,000 in the latest week.
Claims have now been below 300,000, a threshold associated with
a strong labor market, for 74 consecutive weeks, the longest
streak since 1973. With the labor market perceived to be either
at or approaching full employment, there is probably limited
scope for further declines in claims.
Claims tend to be volatile around this time of the year when
automobile manufacturers typically idle assembly lines for
retooling. Some, however, often keep production running, which
can throw off the model the government uses to strip out
seasonal fluctuations from the data.
Through the gyrations, the trend in claims has remained
consistent with jobs market strength. The four-week moving
average of claims, considered a better measure of labor market
trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, rose 3,750 to
260,250 last week.
A Labor Department analyst said there were no special factors
influencing last week's claims data and no states had been
estimated.
The claims data has no impact on July's employment report,
scheduled to be released on Friday, as it falls outside the
survey period. According to a Reuters survey of economists,
nonfarm payrolls likely increased by a healthy 180,000 jobs in
July after surging 287,000 the prior month. June's jump in job
gains was viewed as unsustainable given anemic economic growth.
Labor market strength is boosting consumer spending, which is
expected to help the economy regain speed after growth braked to
an average 1.0 percent annual rate in the last three quarters.
Thursday's claims report showed the number of people still
receiving benefits after an initial week of aid slipped 6,000 to
2.14 million in the week ended July 23. The four-week average of
the so-called continuing claims increased 5,250 to 2.14 million.
(Reporting By Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci ((Lucia.Mutikani@thomsonreuters.com;
1 202 898 8315; Reuters Messaging:
lucia.mutikani.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)
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