New claims for jobless benefits edged down in late March, continuing a record streak of low levels, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
For the week ending March 25, new claims for unemployment insurance dipped by 3,000 to 258,000, seasonally adjusted, compared to the prior week. Analysts had been expecting a decrease of 16,000.
The less volatile four-week moving average stood at 254,250, an increase of 7,750.
Weekly claims for jobless benefits have remained below the level of 300,000 for more than two years, a streak not recorded since 1970.
Officials in the heavily industrialized state of Ohio reported layoffs in manufacturing, transportation and warehousing. California however saw fewer layoffs in the service sector.
Though they see big swings from week to week, claims for jobless benefits can be used to gauge the prevalence of layoffs and the health of labor markets.
Robust job creation since mid-2016 has helped persuade the Federal Reserve to raise its benchmark interest rates twice since December.
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