It was a good news-bad news week in the unemployment assistance arena.
On one hand, the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose a bit. On the other hand, those numbers remain at historically low levels.
The Labor Department reported that jobless claim applications rose to 224,000 for the week of Nov. 30. That’s an increase of about 9,000 and more than the 214,000 analysts were forecasting, according to the Associated Press.
Continuing claims, the total number of Americans collecting jobless benefits, fell by 25,000 to 1.87 million for the week of Nov. 23. That’s down from the three-year high levels it had been at the past few weeks, the AP said.
The four-week average of weekly claims rose by 750 to 218,250.
The Fed has cut its benchmark rate at its last two meetings in response to receding inflation, which has fallen close to the U.S. central bank’s 2% target. Another cut is expected when the Fed board meets in two weeks.
Earlier this week, the government reported that U.S. job openings rebounded to 7.7 million in October from a 3-1/2 year low of 7.4 million in September.
While U.S. employers added only 12,000 jobs in October, the AP says analysts forecast that the government will report on Friday that U.S. employers added 215,000 jobs in November.
