First-time claims for US unemployment benefits climbed last week, but the overall trend continued to head slowly downward, new government data shows.
Initial jobless claims, a sign of the pace of layoffs, totalled a seasonally adjusted 320,000 in the week ending March 15, up from the prior week's 315,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday.
Most analysts had forecast a larger rise to 330,000 claims, but the downward trend was visible as the post-recession labour market gradually recovers.
The four-week moving average, which helps to smooth out week-over-week volatility, fell by 3500 to 327,000 claims. A year ago the average stood at 340,750 claims.
"Prior to the last couple weeks, the initial claims level - absent unexpected seasonal biases - was bounded between 330,000 and 340,000," Briefing.com said in a research note.
"The latest data show a slight downward move from that range. This could be the start of another stage in the improvement in labor market conditions."
In February, the US unemployment rate was 6.7 per cent and the economy added 175,000 jobs, picking up the pace of job growth.
