New applications for unemployment benefits jumped to 274,000 in the last week of April, the Department of Labor reported Thursday, up from an ultra-low 257,000 the week before.
Private-sector economists had expected 262,000 new claims, according to a survey conducted by Bloomberg.
Despite the unexpected rise, jobless claims remain low. The four-week moving average of claims ticked up by 2,000 to 258,000, a low not seen before the month of April since late 1973, when the U.S. labor force was much smaller.
Jobless claims have dipped to the lowest levels in decades in recent weeks, suggesting few layoffs and a strong job market. Investors and policymakers look at the weekly initial claims, which are adjusted for seasonal variations, as a high-frequency gauge of the economy’s health.
The end of April marked 61 straight weeks of initial claims below the 300,000 mark, the longest such streak since 1973. Claims below 300,000, private-sector economists have calculated, indicate job growth and falling unemployment.
At 5 percent in March, the unemployment rate is already not far from what the Federal Reserve thinks represents a healthy economy. The Bureau of Labor Statistics is set to release the jobs numbers for April Friday morning. Economists expect 200,000 new jobs and for the unemployment rate to decline to 4.9 percent.
The overall claims show the U.S. economy making gains, even as the state-by-state data bears out some of the headwinds slowing U.S. growth. While the vast majority of states have seen claims decline over the past year, oil-producing states have experienced the reverse. In Texas, for instance, where the lower price of oil has had a particularly acute effect, claims have risen by over 15,000 in the past year. Jobless applications have also risen in the energy states of Wyoming, Oklahoma, and North Dakota, as well as in Minnesota, Illinois, and Iowa.
