Washington: New claims for US unemployment insurance benefits rose last week but remained at a modest level of layoffs, signaling a firm jobs market, government data released Thursday showed.
The Labor Department said jobless claims rose by 7,000 to 282,000 in the week ending May 23. The prior week`s level was revised up by 1,000 to 275,000.
The increase last week was unexpected; the average estimate was for claims to remain unchanged at 274,000.
There were no special factors affecting last week`s initial claims data, the department said.
The four-week moving average, which helps to smooth week-over-week volatility, rose to 271,500, an increase of 5,000 from the previous week`s slightly revised average.
The claims data highlighted the generally improving trend in the US jobs market. A year ago, initial claims totaled 307,000 and the four-week average was at 312,750.
"With the trend solidly established below 300K -- this is the 12th straight sub-300K week -- claims are consistent with payroll growth above 250K," said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, in a research note.
In April, the unemployment rate fell to a seven-year low of 5.4 percent and the economy added 223,000 jobs.
