The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits rose less than expected last week and the four-week moving average of claims hit its lowest level since 2000, suggesting an abrupt slowdown in job growth in March was likely a fluke.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 14,000 to a seasonally adjusted 281,000 for the week ended April 4, the Labor Department said on Thursday. It was the fifth straight week that claims remained below 300,000, a threshold that is associated with a strengthening labor market.
“The claims data provide no confirmation of the March employment slowdown,” said John Ryding, chief economist at RDQ Economics in New York.
U.S. Treasury debt yields rose on the data and also as Greece’s 450 million euro loan payment to the International Monetary Fund reduced safety bids for government debt. U.S. stocks edged up at the open while the dollar rose against a basket of currencies.
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