WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits last week rose by 10,000 to 272,000, but remained nearly a postrecession low.
Economists polled by the MarketWatch had expected initial jobless claims to climb to a seasonally adjusted 270,000 in the seven days stretching from Feb. 14 to Feb. 20.
Yet the average of new claims over the past four weeks fell by 1,250 to 272,000 to mark the lowest level since early December, the Labor Department said Thursday. The monthly average smooths out fluctuations in the more volatile weekly report and is seen as a more accurate predictor of labor-market trends.
The low number of claims, a proxy for layoffs, indicates companies are sticking to current employment levels despite slower U.S. economic growth and stock-market turmoil in early 2016.
Some 2.25 million people collected weekly unemployment benefits, known as continuing claims, in the seven days ended Feb. 13. That was 19,000 lower from the prior week.
