Washington: US claims for unemployment insurance rose in the second week of October compared to the prior week, but continued their record streak of low readings, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, initial jobless claims rose to 260,000 for the week ending October 15, an increase of 13,000 from the prior week's result, which was revised upwards by 1,000, according to the weekly report.
Though low, the result was above the consensus forecast for 249,000 claims for the period. Unemployment insurance claims, which can be volatile, are used to measure the prevalence of layoffs and the health of the jobs market.
The latest reading marked 85 consecutive weeks of initial claims below 300,000, the longest such continuous stretch since 1970.
The four-week moving average was 251,750, an increase of 2,250 from the previous week's average, which was also revised upwards by 250.
US labor markets have shown resilience in recent months, prompting some US monetary policymakers to call for raising interest rates. But most analysts do not expect the Federal Reserve to do so before December in order not to interrupt a fragile recovery.
