US jobless claims fall less than expected

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell a little less than expected last week, according to the Labor Department.

US initial jobless claims dropped by 16,000 to a seasonally-adjusted 278,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level. Economists had been expecting a slightly bigger decline to 275,000.

This marked 63 consecutive weeks of initial claims below 300,000 - the longest streak since 1973.

The four-week moving average of new claims was 275,750, up 7,500 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 268,250.

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: "The jump to 294K last week always looked like an outlier, and the numbers now have reverted towards the underlying trend, which we think is in the low 270s. More to the point, we doubt the trend has changed much over the past couple of months, despite the wild swings in claims, in both directions.

"The early Easter caused real problems for the seasonals, but this has now faded from the data. We see no reason now to expect much change in claims for the foreseeable future, though you should expect the usual short-term volatility over holiday weeks and the annual auto retooling shutdowns. With claims in the low 270s, payroll growth should continue to trend above 200K."