Applications for unemployment benefits rose by 13,000 to 282,000 in the first week of December, the Department of Labor reported Thursday morning.
That is the highest level for first-time claims since the first week of July. Private-sector economists polled by Bloomberg had expected initial claims to hover around 270,000.
Claims however, remain very low overall. The monthly average for first-time claims, which are adjusted for seasonal fluctuations, rose by 1,500 to 270,750, still a level not seen before this summer since the turn of the century.
Weekly jobless claims are see as a high-frequency gauge of labor market health, with fewer claims signifying fewer layoffs.
The ultra-low readings of jobless claims in recent months have been among the brightest indicators regarding the U.S. economy. For the past two months, low claims have also translated into strong jobs reports.
Nevertheless, there is some question regarding whether fewer unemployment claims is as good a sign as it was earlier in the recession. It’s possible that as the ranks of the unemployment thin out and the unemployment rate falls, fewer people are bothering to stop by state unemployment agencies to file for benefits before looking for new jobs.
A survey released by the Labor Department this week, however, showed no uptick in layoffs. Meanwhile, voluntary quits are up over the year. The number of job openings also has risen quickly.
Overall, there are few signs from layoffs that the jobs market is weakening heading into 2016.
There’s been enough improvement since the darkest days of the recession for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates from zero at its meeting next week.
Whether job growth can remain strong enough in 2016 to support successive interest rate target increases is now the main question facing Fed officials. In congressional testimony this month, Chairwoman Janet Yellen identified 100,000 as a rough estimate of how many new jobs on net were needed each month to keep the unemployment rate trending down from its current 5 percent. The economy has easily cleared that mark in recent months with claims hovering in the 270,000 range.
