By Greg Robb, MarketWatch
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell unexpectedly last week, government statistics showed on Thursday.
Jobless claims fell 6,000 to 361,000 in the week ended Aug. 4, according to the Labor Department. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had projected claims would rise to 370,000.
The job market remains difficult as employers have pulled back from adding workers due to the European debt crisis and a stalemate in the U.S. over tax and spending policies. The unemployment rate ticked up to 8.3% in July.
Another report today showed that the U.S. trade deficit narrowed by 10.7% to $42.9 billion. This is the smallest trade gap since December 2010.
The level of claims — a rough gauge of whether layoffs are rising or falling — had bounced up and down in July because of temporary fluctuations in the number of auto workers. Last week, a Labor Department spokesman said the volatility in the data is likely over. The process of temporary auto layoffs usually fades by early August and claims become less volatile.
A more stable barometer of labor-market trends, the four-week claims average, rose 2,250 to 368,250 after hitting its lowest level since late March in the prior week. That is an indication that claims are stabilizing.
Weekly applications for benefits have ranged from 352,000 to 392,000, in the first seven months of 2012. That level of claims typically correlates with modest increases in monthly job growth.
Also Thursday, the Labor Department said continuing claims increased by 53,000 to a seasonally adjusted 3.33 million in the week ended July 28. Continuing claims reflect the numbers of people already receiving benefits and are reported with a one-week lag.
About 5.75 million people received some kind of state or federal benefit in the week ended July 21, down 214,367 from the prior week. Total claims are reported with a two-week lag.
Greg Robb is a senior reporter for MarketWatch in Washington.
