WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Applications for unemployment benefits rose 3,000 to 254,000 in late September, but the low level of initial claims points to a steadily improving labor market in which jobs are the easiest to find in years.
Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast claims to total 259,000 in the week stretching from Sept. 18 to Sept. 24.
Initial jobless claims slid below 300,000 in 2015 and have stayed there for 82 straight weeks. And new claims have tallied less than 270,000 for three months, a feat last accomplished in 1973.
Lower claims in September could be a prelude to a strong employment report. The government will release the numbers next week. So far this year the economy has added an average of 182,000 new jobs a month. The unemployment rate, at 4.9%, is at an eight-year low.
The average of new jobless claims over the past month fell 2,250 to 256,000 to match a postrecession low, the Labor Department said Thursday. The less volatile four-week average is seen as a more accurate measure of labor-market trends.
Continuing jobless claims, meanwhile, declined by 46,000 to 2.06 million in the week ended Sept. 17, the government said. These claims, reported with a one-week delay, reflect people already receiving unemployment checks.
