US jobless claims steady in third week of February

WASHINGTON: New claims for US jobless benefits rose slightly in the third week of February but maintained the record streak of low levels, the Labor Department said Thursday.
The result supported the picture of healthy US labor markets amid steady job creation since mid-2016.
In the week ending Feb. 18, there were 244,000 initial claims for unemployment insurance, an increase of 6,000 over the prior week. That was slightly higher than the consensus forecast which predicted 2,000 fewer claims.
The more stable four-week moving average fell by 4,000 to 241,000 new claims.
Initial claims have remained below 300,000 for nearly two years, the longest such stretch recorded since 1970.
Though the weekly readings see large swings, claims for unemployment insurance can be used to gauge the prevalence of layoffs and the general health of labor markets.
Analysts say employers may be forgoing layoffs, fearing that with a tight labor market they may have difficulty replacing the workers they let go.
The minutes of the Federal Reserve’s last monetary policy meeting, published Wednesday, showed central bankers believe an interest rate increase likely will be needed “fairly soon,” partly because labor markets continue to show signs of strength.