New applications for unemployment benefits fell for the third straight week to 267,000 at the end of May, the Department of Labor reported Thursday.
That number was a drop of 1,000 from the week before and right in line with expectations. Thursday’s report will likely reassure investors and government officials that there are few signs of job growth falling apart in the near term.
Claims, which are adjusted for seasonal fluctuations, spiked early in the month to just below 300,000 before then drifting back down toward low levels.
With Thursday’s report, jobless claims have run below the 300,000 mark for 65 straight weeks, the longest such streak since 1973. Claims numbers below the 300,000 to 325,000 range are thought to signal continued job growth.
Economists take low numbers of claims to mean that there are few layoffs and that net job growth will be strong.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics is scheduled to report on payroll job growth Friday morning. Analysts expect that the report will show job growth similar to last month’s 160,000 new jobs.
Officials at the Federal Reserve calculate that, at this stage of the jobs recovery that has stretched from 2010, fewer than 100,000 jobs are needed each month to keep the unemployment rate trending down.
The drop in jobless claims reported Thursday served to push down the four-week moving average of claims by 1,750 to 276,750.
The Labor Department said that there were no special factors influencing Thursday’s report.
