Investing.com - The number of Americans applying for first-time unemployment benefits edged up by more than expected last week.
Initial jobless claims came in at 219,000 in the week ended on February 1, according to Department of Labor data on Thursday. The prior week’s figure was slightly revised higher by 1,000 to 208,000, while economists had expected a reading of 214,000.
Meanwhile, the four-week moving average, which aims to smooth out volatility in the weekly number, also increased to 216,750 from 212,750.
The data comes ahead of the release of the all-important nonfarm payrolls report for January on Friday, which should provide a glimpse into labor demand that is closely monitored by Federal Reserve policymakers. Economists are predicting that the U.S. economy added 169,000 jobs last month, down from 256,000 in December.
Earlier this week, separate data have shown that private payrolls expanded in January, while job openings slipped by the most in 14 months. However, resilient hiring and a relatively low level of layoffs has suggested that the labor market is not entering a sudden downturn, bolstering the case for the Fed to leave interest rates unchanged until at least June.