The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose slightly more than expected last week, but the underlying trend continued to suggest the labour market was tightening.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 10,000 to a seasonally-adjusted 274,000 for the week ended May 16, the U.S. Labor Department said on Thursday. Claims for the prior week were unrevised.
Despite last week's increase, claims remained below 300,000, a threshold associated with a strengthening labour market, for an 11th straight week. Economists had forecast claims rising to 271,000 last week.
A department analyst said there was nothing unusual in the state-level data and no states had been estimated.
The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure of labour market trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, fell 5,500 last week to 266,250, the lowest level since April 2000.
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