According to the Labor Department reports released on Thursday more Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, but the claims for jobless aid remain near pre-recession levels.
The Labor Department said that the weekly applications for unemployment benefits have risen 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted level of 317,000. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, has increase to 315,250. These figures are near the jobless claims levels before the outbreak of the Great Recession in December 2007.
Application are considered to be a proxy of layoff, so the claims data indicates that the employers are dismissing fewer workers. When businesses are confident enough to hold onto staff, that they may also step up hiring. That is a positive sign for economic growth, as more jobs usually helps lift the consumer spending and in turn increases the economic outlook.
Last Friday, the Labor Department said employers added 217,000 jobs in May as the unemployment rate held steady at 6.3 percent.Monthly job gains have averaged 234,000 for the past three months, up sharply from 150,000 in the previous three. The May unemployment rate, which is derived from a separate survey, was the lowest rate in more than five years.