WASHINGTON (AP) – More Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, but the totals stayed near historic lows in a sign that the recent slowdown in economic growth has yet to spark layoffs.
THE NUMBERS: Weekly applications for jobless aid rose 17,000 to a seasonally adjusted 274,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, edged up to 258,000, close to the 42-year low achieved two weeks ago. Over the past 12 months, the number of people collecting benefits has dropped 5.4 percent to 2.12 million.
THE TAKEAWAY: Jobless claims are a proxy for layoffs. With relatively few people seeking unemployment benefits, it appears as though employers are unworried about recent sluggish growth. The economy expanded at an annual rate of just 0.5 percent in the first quarter, the weakest pace in two years. That modest growth followed a weak gain of only 1.4 percent in the closing three months of 2015.
But employers have shrugged off the slowdown. Applications for unemployment benefits have stayed below 300,000 for 61 consecutive weeks, the longest streak since 1973.
KEY DRIVERS: The report on unemployment benefits indicates that hiring should continue to be healthy in the jobs report being released Friday by the government. Economists forecast that employers added 200,000 jobs in April, while the unemployment rate remained 5 percent. Those gains would follow the addition of 215,000 jobs in March.