Applications for unemployment benefits in the U.S. rose to 317,000 last week, holding below this year’s average and signaling sustained progress in the labour market.
Jobless claims climbed by 4,000 in the week ended June 7, a U.S. Labor Department report showed today in Washington. The median forecast of economists called for 310,000. Claims have averaged around 324,000 so far in 2014.
Faster sales over time would make it easier for those employers whose headcounts are lean to step up hiring. While payroll gains are on pace for their best year since 1999, stronger wage growth is needed to help provide a bigger push for the consumer spending that accounts for almost 70% of the economy.
Consumers took a break in May after a three-month surge in shopping that has underpinned growth. A 0.3% increase in retail sales followed a revised 0.5% advance that was much larger than previously estimated, Commerce Department figures showed today.
Other department figures today showed prices of imported goods rose 0.1% in May after a 0.5% decrease the previous month.
Economists’ estimates in the survey for jobless claims ranged from 300,000 to 340,000 after an initially reported 312,000 in the prior week.
No states were estimated last week and there was nothing unusual in the data, a department spokesman said as the report was released to the press.
The four-week average of claims, a less-volatile measure than the weekly figure, climbed to 315,250 from 310,500 in the prior week.
