Americans filing for unemployment benefits numbered higher last week -- more than expected -- but the four-week average of claims fell to a two-month low, indicating that labour market conditions south of the border continue to tighten.
Figures released by the U.S. Labor Department Thursday revealed that initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 14,000 to a seasonally-adjusted 257,000 for the week ended April 22. Data for the prior week from the department was revised to show 1,000 fewer applications received than previously reported.
Claims for jobless benefits in the States have now been below 300,000, a threshold associated with a healthy labour market, for 112 straight weeks, the longest such stretch since 1970, when the labour market was smaller. The labour market is close to full employment in the U.S., with the unemployment rate at a near 10-year low of 4.5%.
Economists had forecast first-time applications for jobless benefits rising to 245,000 last week.
The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure of labour market trends as it smooths out week-to-week volatility, fell 500 to 242,250 last week, the lowest level since February.
