US jobless demands rose last week
Students are waiting to enter a career at the University of California, Berkeley in Berkeley, Calif., In September.
Photo:
Ann Saphir / Reuters
WASHINGTON – The number of Americans who submitted applications for new unemployment services rose last week, but remained at a low level, suggesting a tight labor market.
Initial unemployed claims, a proxy for resignation over the United States, increased by 2000 to a seasonally adjusted 216,000 a week ended November 10, the Labor Department said Thursday. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expected 215,000 new demands last week. The requirements for last week were unrevised to 214,000.
The four-week moving average of requirements, a steeper goal, increased last week by 1500 to 215 250.
Jobless requirements affected a 49-year low of 202,000 in the middle by September before they were modest after two hurricanes that hit the southern United States, causing disturbances for some businesses. The Labor Department noted that claims in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina were still affected by the storm in November 10th.
More generally, the US labor market is extraordinarily tight, so companies are reluctant to let workers go. Unemployment remained 3.7% last year, equivalent to almost half a century low.
Thursday's report showed that the number of workers who worked for longer than one week increased by 46,000 to 1,676,000 a week ended November 3rd. The number, also known as continued claims, is reported with a week's delay. [19659009] Write to Sarah Chaney at sarah.chaney@wsj.com and Harriet Torry at harriet.torry@wsj.com
