WASHINGTON — The number of people who applied for unemployment benefits fell slightly last week, indicating that the US job market continues to gradually improve.
New applications for state unemployment benefits dropped by 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 382,000 in the week ending April 2, the Labor Department said Thursday.
Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected new applications for jobless benefits to drop to 385,000.
The average of new claims over the past four weeks — considered a more meaningful, long-term barometer — declined by 5,750 to 389,500.
Jobless claims have fallen under 400,000 in seven of the past nine weeks. When the US economy is in an expansionary jobs mode, new applications for unemployment benefits tend to drop well below 400,000 for an extended period.
The downward trend in weekly claims, which peaked during the recession at 659,000, appears to be reflected in a gradually improving labor market. The US economy added a net 216,000 jobs in March, with private-sector employment growing by more than 200,000 in each of the past two months — the first time that has happened in five years.
Yet while the US jobless rate ticked lower last month, it is still elevated at 8.8 percent.
“Businesses are hiring, perhaps not at lightning speed, but they are hiring. And the jobless rate is inching lower,” said senior economist Jennifer Lee of BMO Capital Markets. “We’re nowhere near ‘normal,’ but we’re taking steps in the right direction.”
The Labor Department also reported that the number of Americans who continue to receive state unemployment checks decreased by 9,000 to 3.72 million in the week ended March 26. The four-week average fell to its lowest level since October 2008, or the middle of the last recession.
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