US jobless claims fell last week
WASHINGTON—The number of Americans filing applications for new unemployment benefits fell last week, pointing to a historically tight labor market.
Initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs across the U.S., were a seasonally adjusted 228,000 in the week ended May 4, the Labor Department said Thursday. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expected 220,000 new claims last week.
Data can be volatile from week to week. The four-week moving average of claims, a steadier measure, increased to 220,250.
Claims are elevated compared with mid-April when they were as low as 193,000. Still, the layoffs proxy remains near historic lows, signaling the job market is strong heading into the summer months.
Job openings have outnumbered unemployed workers for more than a year, making it harder for managers to find and keep employees. This has driven claims lower and spurred some of the fastest wage growth in the current economic expansion.
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The report also showed the number of claims workers made for longer than a week increased by 13,000 to 1,684,000 in the week ended April 27. The figure, also known as continuing claims, is reported with a one-week lag.