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Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased by
1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 236,000 for the week ended Aug.
26, the Labor Department said on Thursday.
Data for the prior week was revised to show 1,000 more
applications received than previously reported. Claims have now
been below 300,000, a threshold associated with a robust labor
market, for 130 consecutive weeks. That is the longest such
stretch since 1970, when the labor market was smaller.
A Labor Department official said there were no special factors
influencing the claims data and that no states had been
estimated. But upcoming reports could be impacted by Tropical
Storm Harvey, which has devastated parts of Texas.
The storm will probably leave some people temporarily unemployed
and hamper the filing of claims.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims rising to
237,000 in the latest week. The four-week moving average of
claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends as it
irons out week-to-week volatility, fell by 1,250 to 236,750 last
week, the lowest reading since May.
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Paul Simao)
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