Applications for US jobless aid inch up to a 10-month high
Source: AP-Excite
By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people seeking unemployment benefits rose last week to the highest level since May, though the pace of applications remains at a level consistent with steady hiring.
Weekly applications rose 7,000 to a seasonally adjusted 320,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, increased 10,250 to 304,750, a six-week high.
The number of applications tends to reflect the pace of U.S. layoffs. The four-week average has remained near or below 300,000 since September, a historically low level that typically signals healthy job gains.
More Americans are earning paychecks, and gas prices have plummeted from last summer, thereby boosting consumers' buying power. Americans also say they are more confident and are spending more, which has encouraged many businesses to hold on to their workers and to add staff.
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In this photo taken Friday, Feb. 6, 2015, U.S. Armed Forces Veterans attend the annual Veterans Career and Resource Fair in Miami. The Labor Department releases weekly jobless claims for the week ending Feb. 28 on Thursday, March 5, 2015. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)
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