The number of US workers applying for jobless benefits rose by 7,000 last week to a level slightly higher than expected but still underscoring steady labour market conditions, government data on Thursday showed.
Initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits rose for a second straight week to a seasonally adjusted 316,000 in the week ended August 4, from an upwardly revised 309,000 the prior week, the Labour Department said.
Last week's rise exceeded Wall Street economists' forecasts for 310,000 claims after an original reading of 307,000 in the week ended July 28. The four-week moving average, a more reliable measure of labour market trends because it irons out weekly fluctuations in the data, inched up to 307,750 in the week ended August 4, from 306,000. The rise in new claims brought them to their highest level since June 30, when they hit 321,000, the department said.