Washington: New claims for US unemployment insurance benefits edged higher for a second straight week but remained at a low level as the jobs market improves, government data released Thursday showed.
Initial jobless claims, a sign of the pace of layoffs, rose to 270,000 in the week ending August 1, an increase of 3,000 from the prior week`s unrevised level of 267,000, the Labor Department reported.
Last week`s claims number was a bit better than analysts` consensus estimate of 271,000.
The Labor Department said there were no special factors influencing the claims data.
The four-week moving average fell by 6,500 to 268,250; a year ago the average stood at 297,750. The long-running downward trend in claims comes amid a falling unemployment rate and moderate jobs growth.
On Friday, the Labor Department releases the July jobs report, expected to show the unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.3 percent, a seven-year low. Analysts forecast the economy added 229,000 jobs, up from 223,000 in June.
