WASHINGTON, July 18 (Xinhua) -- The number of initial jobless claims in the United States rose last week, according to a report released by the U.S. Labor Department Thursday.
In the week ending July 13, the number of people filing for U.S. unemployment benefits increased by 8,000 to 216,000. Meanwhile, the previous week's level was revised down by 1,000 to 208,000.
The report also showed that four-week moving average of initial claims, a method to iron out data volatility, decreased by 250 to 218,750. Meanwhile, the previous week's number was revised down by 250 to 219,000.
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 U.S. labor market, American employers added 224,000 jobs in June, and the unemployment rate edged up to 3.7 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday, July 5.
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