WASHINGTON — The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell slightly last week, indicating the jobs market continues to gradually recover.
Initial jobless claims fell by 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 388,000 in the week ended March 26, the Labor Department said Thursday in its weekly report. The prior week’s figures were revised up to 394,000 from an originally reported 382,000.
Claims data going all the way back to 2006 were revised after the Labor Department Thursday unveiled new seasonal factors used to calculate the data. The government revisions caused a slight increase in jobless claims compared with figures reported previously.
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast claims would fall by 2,000 in the latest week.
The four-week moving average of new claims, considered a more reliable indicator because it smooths out volatile weekly data, rose by 3,250 to 394,250 in the week ending March 26.
Since mid-February, claims have been close to or below 400,000, widely considered the point at which the economy is gaining more jobs than it’s shedding.
Strong hiring in February pushed the U.S. unemployment rate down to 8.9 percent, the lowest level in nearly two years. Private-sector payrolls expanded at a solid pace this month, according to a report out Wednesday, suggesting the employment report due today will show continued job gains. Still, the hole caused by the 2008-09 recession was so deep that most economists expect the unemployment rate to remain close to 9 percent until the end of the year.
The Labor Department said in Thursday’s report that the number of continuing claims — those drawn by workers for more than a week — dropped by 51,000 to 3,714,000 in the week ended March 19. Continuing claims are reported with a one-week lag.
The unemployment rate for workers with unemployment insurance was 3 percent in the week ending March 19, unchanged from the previous week.
