US jobless applications rise, but levels point to job growth

Source: AP-Excite

By JOSH BOAK

WASHINGTON (AP) — More people sought unemployment benefits last week, but the number of applicants remained near historic lows in a positive sign for job growth.

The Labor Department said Thursday that weekly applications rose 11,000 to a seasonally adjusted 278,000. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, fell 6,500 to 292,750. That average has plunged 15 percent over the past 12 months.

The weekly increase comes after applications plummeted 42,000 in the prior week to 267,000. There has been volatility in recent reports due to the end of the holiday shopping season and the recent Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, when state unemployment offices were closed. The government tries to adjust for such seasonal patterns, but isn't always able to do so perfectly.

Weekly applications are a proxy for layoffs. The decline indicates that companies are keeping their workers and potentially looking to hire on the expectation that the economy will continue growing.

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In this Friday, Jan. 23, 2015 photo, instructor Lavinda Young, left, helps Fabian Perez, center, and Lazaro Chaviano, right, with their resumes during a job fair at the Hospitality Institute, in Miami. The U.S. Labor Department reports on the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits for the week ending Jan. 24 on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2015. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

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