First-time claims for unemployment insurance benefits fell by 6,000 to 275,000 in the first week of September, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
The decline was right in line with Wall Street economists’ expectations for 275,000 new claims, which are adjusted for seasonal fluctuations.
Thursday’s release suggests that jobless claims remain low throughout the country, having fallen steadily to some of the lowest levels in decades in recent months. Claims have not broken the 300,000 mark since February.
The four-week moving average of claims rose by a mere 500 to a still-low 275,750.
Low unemployment claims, which are released on a weekly basis, are considered a positive leading indicator for jobs and the economy.
They are just one of several such gauges to show encouraging progress in recent weeks. The Labor Department reported Wednesday that there were 5.8 million advertised job openings in July, the most on record.
Slow layoffs and moderate job growth have combined to drive the unemployment rate to 5.1 percent in August, the lowest it has been since early 2008, during the beginning months of the recession.
There were no special factors affecting the latest batch of unemployment claim reports from the 50 states, the Labor Department said. The biggest state increase in first-time jobless claims was in New York, which saw claims rise by 4,642.
Any signs of fallout from the volatility in financial markets in recent weeks or slowdown in China have yet to show up in the jobless claims data.
The past year has seen a significant decline in the number of people who receive unemployment benefits of all durations, which are available for up to 26 weeks after job loss. The total number of beneficiaries has dropped from 2.37 million a year ago to 2.15 million through August 22. Over the past 12 months, the unemployment rate has also fallen by a full percentage point.
