US jobless claims rise last week

WASHINGTON -- The number of initial jobless claims in the United States increased last week, according to a report released by the US Labor Department on Thursday.

In the week ending July 27, the number of people filing for US unemployment benefits increased by 8,000 to 215,000. Meanwhile, the previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 206,000 to 207,000.

The report also showed that the four-week moving average of initial claims, a method to iron out data volatility, decreased by 1,750 to 211,500. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 to 213,250.

As an important leading indicator to reflect unemployment status in the United States, a lower reading in jobless claims indicates lower overall layoffs. The reading of jobless claims remained below the 300,000 threshold, signaling a tight labor market in the United States.

For the bigger picture of the US labor market, American employers added 224,000 jobs in June, and the unemployment rate edged up to 3.7 percent, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on July 5. The bureau is scheduled to release July employment situation report on Friday.