Once again, the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, suggesting the labour market south of the border was continuing to gain momentum.
Figures released Thursday by the U.S. Labor Department showed initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 261,000 for the week ended Aug. 20. It was the third straight weekly decline in claims.
Claims for the prior week were unrevised. Economists had forecast first-time applications for jobless benefits rising to 265,000 in the latest week.
Claims have now been below 300,000 in the United States, a threshold associated with a strong labour market, for 77 straight weeks. That is the longest such stretch since 1973, when the labour market was much smaller.
