WASHINGTON, April 25 (Xinhua) -- The number of initial jobless claims rose by 37,000 after hitting a nearly five decade low in the previous week, according to a report released by the U.S. Labor Department on Thursday.
In the week ending April 20, the number of people filing for U.S. unemployment benefits rose to 230,000 from previous week's revised figure. Meanwhile, the previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 192,000 to 193,000, said the Labor Department.
The report also showed that four-week moving average of initial claims, a method to iron out data volatility, rose by 4,500 to 206,000 last week while the previous week's average was revised up from 201,250 to 201,500.
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 would contribute to wage growth and indicate strong momentum in economic growth.
The strong employment could also be seen in the bigger picture. In March, the U.S. economy added 196,000 jobs, while the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.8 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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