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Initial claims for state unemployment benefits edged up 1,000 to
a seasonally adjusted 260,000 for the week ended Sept. 10, the
Labor Department said on Thursday. Claims for the prior week
were unrevised.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast first-time
applications for jobless benefits rising to 265,000 in the
latest week.
It was the 80th straight week that claims remained below the
300,000 threshold, which is associated with robust labor market
conditions. That is the longest stretch since 1970, when the
labor market was much smaller.
A Labor Department analyst said there were no special factors
influencing last week's 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, slipped 500 to 260,750 last week.
Claims likely have little room for decline further as the labor
market nears full employment.
Thursday's claims report also showed the number of people still
receiving benefits after an initial week of aid rose 1,000 to
2.14 million in the week ended Sept. 3. The four-week average of
the so-called continuing claims fell 8,000 to 2.15 million.
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
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