Unemployment insurance claims filed by American workers grew to 365,000 filings for the week ending July 28, an increase of 8,000 claims from a week earlier, the Labor Department said.
Revised figures for the previous week put jobless claims at 357,000 filings. Meanwhile, the 4-week moving average hit 365,500, a decline of 2,750 claims from the previous week.
About 47 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News projected jobless claims for the recent week would rise to 370,000, according to the news agency.
Econoday analysts also were not surprised by the data and showed little distress over the uptick in their analysis.
“Initial jobless claims rose 8,000 in the July 28 week in what is the smallest change after three weeks of severe volatility tied to adjustment for summer auto retooling,” Econoday wrote. “The latest level of 365,000 is right in line with the 4-week average of 365,500 which offers an interesting gauge for the full-month July to June comparison, and this comparison, which is down more than 20,000 from the late June average, points to improvement in the labor market.”
