WASHINGTON (AP) — Fewer people sought U.S. unemployment benefits last week, as jobless claims remain at relatively low levels that point toward stronger economic growth.
Weekly applications for unemployment aid fell 14,000 to a seasonally adjusted 289,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. The prior week’s was revised up slightly to 303,000.
The four-week average, a less volatile measure, fell 4,000 to 293,500. That’s the lowest average since February 2006, almost two years before the Great Recession began at the end of 2007.
Applications are a proxy for layoffs. When employers keep their workers, it suggests potentially rising incomes, increased hiring activity and confidence that the economy is improving.
Employers added a net total of 209,000 jobs in July, the sixth straight month of job gains above 200,000, the government reported Friday.
The recent spurt of hiring has encouraged more people to start looking for work, causing the unemployment rate to inch up to 6.2 percent from 6.1 percent. The government only counts people searching for jobs as unemployed.
Still, greater job security and more hiring activity have yet to boost wages by much. Wage growth has slightly outpaced inflation since the recession ended more than five years ago.
But more people with jobs increases the total number of paychecks, which could boost consumer spending and growth.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
For the past three months, the unemployment rate for those 18 to 19 has averaged 18.4%. For those 20 to 24 has averaged 11%. That’s the problem that needs to be fixed.
More proof Bush is better than Obama. Losing 800,000 jobs a month is better than an average gain of 250,000 jobs created a month for the year…ask an left, tea or independent leaning Bagger or ask foolmemore ^…
May the people of this country never live that poll down…EVER.
No matter what, there will always be some spiteful hater that will attempt to find the negative in every good report. That’s the problem that needs to be fixed.
I don’t exactly know why but a stronger, ever improving economy coincides with a stronger, ever more disgusting, backlash.
And it’s mostly from the people who are benefitting the most but also a few nerds.
This isn’t “backlash.” The truth is that one of the reason that the unemployment rate decreases is because of the way it’s calculated. How many people applied for unemployment, and how many filed a weekly claim. Those people who are out of benefits are neither. They’re still out of work; they’re just not counted.