U.S. Jobless Claims Rose to 248,000 Last Week

The number of Americans applying for new unemployment benefits jumped last week but remained at a low level consistent with health in the U.S. labor market.

Initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs across the U.S., increased by 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 248,000 in the week ended May 27, the Labor Department said Thursday. That was the highest level in five weeks.

Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected a more modest rise to 238,000 new claims last week. Initial claims for the week ended May 20 were revised up to 235,000 from an earlier estimate of 234,000.

Figures for jobless claims can be volatile from week to week, especially around holidays; Monday was Memorial Day. The four-week moving average for initial claims, a more stable measure, rose by 2,500 to 238,000 last week.

Low claims can signal that relatively few companies are laying off workers, a sign of health in the broader economy. Weekly claims have hovered below 300,000 for 117 consecutive weeks, the longest such streak since 1970--when the U.S. population and workforce were far smaller than they are today.

The job market has tightened in recent years. The unemployment rate in April was 4.4%, matching its lowest level since 2001, and nonfarm payrolls rose by an average of 185,000 per month in the first four months of 2017. Economists surveyed by the Journal expect the Labor Department on Friday will report that joblessness was steady in May at 4.4% and employers added 184,000 new jobs.

Also on Thursday, the Labor Department said continuing unemployment claims, reflecting benefits drawn by workers for longer than a week, fell by 9,000 to 1.915 million in the week ended May 20. The four-week moving average for continuing claims hit its lowest level since Jan. 12, 1974.

Data on continuing claims are released with a one-week lag.

The Labor Department's latest report on jobless claims can be accessed at: http://www.dol.gov/ui/data.pdf

Write to Ben Leubsdorf at ben.leubsdorf@wsj.com and Sarah Chaney at sarah.chaney@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 01, 2017 08:45 ET (12:45 GMT)