The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose slightly last week, but underlying strength in the labor market still shows signs of continuing and is expected to continue to support the economy.
Initial claims for state jobless benefits rose by 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 219,000 for the week ending May 25, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 218,000 claims in the latest week.
The labor market is gradually rebalancing after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 525 basis points from March 2022 to slow demand in the overall economy.
Continuing claims that track those who collected benefits beyond the first week rose by 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 1.791 million for the week ended May 18, the claims report showed.
