US initial jobless claims rise touch more than expected

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose just a touch more than expected last week, according to the Labor Department.

US initial jobless claims were up 10,000 from the previous week’s downwardly-revised 258,000, to 268,000.

Economists had expected claims to push up to 267,000.

Still, this marked the 69th consecutive week claims were below 300,000, the longest streak since 1973.

The four-week moving average of new claims was 266,750, unchanged from the previous week’s average, which was revised down by 250.

The four-week average is considered more reliable as it smooths out sharp fluctuations in the more volatile weekly figures, giving a more accurate picture of the health of the labour market.

Pantheon Macroeconomics said: “This modest rebound in claims comes despite favourable seasonals, but the numbers are always volatile at this time of year as a result of the automakers' summer retooling shutdowns.”