(RTTNews) – The Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing a modest rebound in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended July 25th.
The report said initial jobless claims rose to 197,000, an increase of 9,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 188,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to climb to 200,000 from the 187,000 originally reported for the previous week, which marked the lowest level since September 1969.
“Initial jobless claims rebounded modestly in the week ended July 25 but remain below the 200k threshold,” said Grace Zwemmer, U.S. Economist at Oxford Economics.
She added, “While seasonal factors may be impacting the headline number at the margins, the low level of claims highlights a low layoff rate and the strength underlying the labor market.”
Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average edged down to 202,750, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week’s revised average of 207,750.
The report said continuing claims, a reading on the numbers of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, also dipped by 7,000 to 1.782 million in the week ended July 18th.
The four-week moving average of continuing claims also slipped to 1,797,500, a decrease of
6,000 from the previous week’s revised average of 1,803,500.
“The decent pace of nonfarm payroll gains amid weak labor-supply conditions should translate into lower continued claims in the weeks ahead,” said Zwemmer.
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