New applications for unemployment insurance benefits edged up by 1,000 to 218,000 in the last week of July, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
That slight increase was right in line with forecasters’ expectations, and means that claims are still extremely low by historical standards.
Low jobless claims are a good sign, as they suggest layoffs are rare. And in recent weeks claims have dropped as low as they have been in nearly half a century, a sign that the economic expansion is still barreling ahead, even in its ninth year.
Over the past month, weekly new claims have averaged 214,500, the second-lowest since late 1969.
Economists reckon that any number of new claims under 300,000 means that the unemployment rate is going to keep steady or fall. It’s been three years since the U.S. hit that number.
The Labor Department is scheduled to issue the July jobs report on Friday. Forecasters expect another strong report, showing around 190,000 new payroll jobs and the unemployment rate dipping to 3.9 percent.
