Jobless claims rise slightly to 215,000, but labor market shows little sign of trouble

The numbers: The number of people who applied for jobless benefits rose slightly in late May, but not enough to put a dent in the strongest U.S. labor market in decades.

Initial jobless claims, a rough way to measure layoffs, rose by 3,000 to 215,000 in the seven days ended May 25, the government said Thursday.

Economists polled by MarketWatch estimated new claims would total a seasonally adjusted 215,000.
The more stable monthly average of new claims fell by 3,750 to 216,750. The four-week average gives a more accurate read into labor-market conditions than the more up-and-down weekly figure.

What happened: New jobless claims fell last month to the lowest since 1968, underscoring an exceedingly low rate of layoffs in the economy.

The number of people already collecting unemployment benefits, meanwhile, declined by 26,000 to 1.66 million. These so-called continuing claims are nearly 5% lower compared to the same time last year.

Big picture: The U.S. labor market is the biggest bright spot for an economy struggling with fresh head winds such as a slowdown in manufacturing and a standoff with China over trade rules.

So far there’s no sign companies are ramping up layoffs or dramatically scaling back plans to hire. As long as the labor market remains strong, the economy is expected to keep growing and set a new record for longest expansion ever.