WASHINGTON — More Americans sought unemployment benefits last week, though the overall level remains low and points to a healthy job market.
Weekly applications increased 7,000 to a seasonally adjusted 282,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, rose 5,000 to 271,500. The average had fallen to a 15-year low two weeks ago.
Applications are a proxy for layoffs. They have remained below 300,000, a historically low number, for 12 weeks. That suggests Americans are experiencing solid job security. It also indicates that employers are confident enough in the economic outlook to hold onto their staffs.
"We continue to get signs that the labor market remains resilient," Derek Lindsey, an economist at BNP Paribas, wrote in a note to clients. "The trend in claims, below the pre-recession trough for weeks now, remains in line with ... our expectation for another solid (jobs) report next Friday."
The total number of people receiving benefits increased 11,000 to 2.22 million. That figure has fallen 16 percent in the past year, and represents roughly one-quarter of the total number of unemployed. Many of those out of work have used up all their benefits. Others, such as recent college graduates looking for work, aren't eligible for unemployment aid.
Thursday's data indicates that the job market has remained healthy even as the economy has faltered. That's an important sign that the slowdown hasn't spooked employers and may be temporary.
See Friday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.