(RTTNews) - A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose by slightly more than expected in the week ended May 23rd.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims climbed to 215,000, an increase of 5,000 from the previous week's revised level of 210,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 213,000 from the 209,000 originally reported for the previous week.
"The latest jobless claims figures are largely consistent with other labor market indicators showing a stable-to-improving job market, allowing the Fed to keep policy steady while it focuses on the inflation side of its dual mandate," said Nancy Vanden Houten, Lead US Economist at Oxford Economics.
She added, "However, nothing in the labor market data suggests conditions are tightening enough to justify a rate hike."
The report said the less volatile four-week moving average also rose to 209,000, an increase of 6,250 from the previous week's revised average of 202,750.
Continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, also climbed by 15,000 to 1.786 million in the week ended May 16th.
The four-week moving average of continuing claims also crept up to 1,772,750, an increase of 2,500 from the previous week's revised average of 1,770,250.
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