The number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits last week climbed slightly, but a very low level of layoffs continued to keep initial claims near an eight-year bottom.
Initial jobless claims rose by 4,000 to 302,000 from Aug. 24 to Aug. 30, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected claims to rise to a seasonally adjusted 300,000.
The average of new claims over the past month, meanwhile, increased by 3,000 to 302,750. The monthly average is less erratic than the weekly figure and offers a better look at underlying trends in the labour market.
Initial jobless claims are a direct reflection of whether layoffs are rising or falling, but changes in the number of people seeking benefits tend to correlate over time with how many jobs the U.S. economy is generating.
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