Applications for jobless aid increase to 311,000

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

More people applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week, although jobless claims continue to be close to pre-recession levels.

Weekly applications for unemployment aid climbed 21,000 to a seasonally adjusted 311,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. The prior week’s was revised up slightly to 290,000.

The four-week average, a less volatile measure, rose 2,000 to 295,750. That continues to be close to averages that predate the beginning of the Great Recession in late 2007.

“Stepping back from the weekly volatility,” said Jennifer Lee, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, “the trend is still very encouraging and points to continued job growth.”

Applications are a proxy for layoffs. When fewer employers shed workers, it suggests potentially rising incomes, increased hiring activity and confidence that the economy is improving.

Employers are searching for more workers.

In June, they advertised the most monthly job openings in more than 13 years, the government reported Tuesday. Employers posted 4.67 million jobs that month, up 2.1 percent from May’s total of 4.58 million, according to the Labor Department. The number of advertised openings was the highest since February 2001, suggesting that hiring should continue to be solid in the coming months.