New claims for unemployment benefits rose to 266,000 in the third week of July, the Department of Labor reported Thursday morning, up slightly from an ultra-low revised reading of 252,000 the week before.
Thursday’s report met economists’ expectations for a modest increase in jobless claims back up to a still-low 264,000.
Jobless claims, which the Labor Department adjusts for seasonal variations, are viewed by investors and policymakers as a high-frequency gauge of the health of the economy. Higher claims mean more layoffs, while low claims suggest further job growth.
Jobless claims, in July, are signalling that the recovery is still intact, as they plumb historic low levels. The four-week moving average of claims fell to 256,500, the second-lowest reading since the early 1970s, when the workforce was much smaller.
Claims have run below 300,000 for 73 weeks, the longest such streak since 1973. It is only above the 300,000 level of claims, economists reckon, that the unemployment rate would begin rising.
Instead, the unemployment rate stood at 4.9 percent in June, prompting some officials at the Federal Reserve to conclude that the U.S. is at or near full employment.
Before Thursday’s report, Fed officials touted “strong” job growth in a monetary policy statement released Wednesday, and pointed to clear sailing for the economy. “Near-term risks to the economic outlook have diminished,” they told the public.
