Jobless Claims in U.S. Holding Just Above a Four-Decade Low
A factory worker welds a lawnmower frame together on the assembly line in Coatesville, Indiana.
Photographer: Luke Sharrett/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Applications for unemployment benefits in the U.S. are hovering close to a four-decade low, a sign of muted firings and steady progress in the labor market.
Jobless claims rose by 5,000 to 274,000 in the week ended Aug. 8, from a revised 269,000 in the prior period, a report from the Labor Department showed Thursday. The four-week moving average, a less-volatile measure of job cuts, declined to the lowest level in more than 15 years.