The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment aid inched up last week but remained near a seven-year low, a sign of strength for the U.S. labour market.
Initial claims for unemployment benefits rose by 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 312,000 in the week ended May 31, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had predicted claims would rise to 310,000.
The previous week's figure was revised upward by 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 304,000.
Many economists see a level of claims below 400,000 as a sign of generally improving conditions in the labour markets.
The four-week moving average, which evens out some week-to-week volatility, fell last week by 2,250 to 310,250, the lowest level since June 2007.
Meanwhile, the number of workers continuing to draw unemployment benefits fell by 20,000 to a seasonally adjusted 2.6 million in the week ended May 24, the lowest level since October 2007. Those figures are reported with a one-week lag.
With the job market improving, economists expect the U.S. Labor Department will report a net gain of 210,000 jobs in May when it reports Friday on unemployment, less than 288,000 added in April but still a solid gain. The unemployment rate is expected to edge up to 6.4% in May from 6.3% a month earlier.
