US Unemployment Aid Requests Near 3-Month High

(WASHINGTON) — The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid fell to a seasonally adjusted 340,000 last week, driving down the four-week average to its lowest level in five years. The drop is a positive sign ahead of Friday’s report on February job growth. Applications for benefits fell 7,000 in the week ended March 2, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s near five-year lows reached in January. And the four-week average, a less volatile measure, dropped to 348,750. That’s the lowest since March 2008, just a few months into the Great Recession.

WASHINGTON — The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid rose last week by 28,000, the third straight increase. Weekly applications increased to a seasonally adjusted 385,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s the highest level since late November. The gain pushed the four-week average, a less volatile measure, to 354,250. A Labor Department spokesman says the figures may have been affected by the Easter holiday.

WASHINGTON — The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid rose last week by 28,000, the third straight increase. Weekly applications increased to a seasonally adjusted 385,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s the highest level since late November. The gain pushed the four-week average, a less volatile measure, to 354,250. A Labor Department spokesman says the figures may have been affected by the Easter holiday.

(WASHINGTON) — The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid rose last week by 28,000, the third straight increase. Weekly applications increased to a seasonally adjusted 385,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s the highest level since late November. The gain pushed the four-week average, a less volatile measure, to 354,250. A Labor Department spokesman says the figures may have been affected by the Easter holiday.

(WASHINGTON) — The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid rose last week by 28,000, the third straight increase. Weekly applications increased to a seasonally adjusted 385,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s the highest level since late November. The gain pushed the four-week average, a less volatile measure, to 354,250. A Labor Department spokesman says the figures may have been affected by the Easter holiday.

WASHINGTON — Weekly applications for U.S. unemployment benefits ticked up slightly last week, the latest sign of slow but consistent gains in the job market. The Labor Department said Thursday that applications rose 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 371,000, the most in five weeks. The previous week’s total was revised lower. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, increased 6,750 to 365,750, after falling to a four-year low the previous week. A department spokesman says all states reported data and none were estimated.

WASHINGTON — Weekly applications for U.S. unemployment benefits ticked up slightly last week, the latest sign of slow but consistent gains in the job market. The Labor Department said Thursday that applications rose 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 371,000, the most in five weeks. The previous week’s total was revised lower. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, increased 6,750 to 365,750, after falling to a four-year low the previous week. A department spokesman says all states reported data and none were estimated.

(WASHINGTON) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose last week by 17,000, reversing four weeks of declines. But the number of people seeking aid is consistent with a job market that continues to grow modestly. Unemployment claims rose the week of Dec. 15 to a seasonally adjusted 361,000 from a revised 344,000 the week before. The less-volatile four-week moving average fell 13,750 to 367,750, lowest since late October. Applications had surged in early November after Superstorm Sandy, then dropped back. (MORE: Weekly U.S.