WASHINGTON: The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week, but the underlying trend remained consistent with tightening labor market conditions.Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 22,000 to a seasonally adjusted 259,000 for the week ended Jan. 21, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Claims for the prior week were revised to show 3,000 more applications received than previously reported.Claims have now been below 300,000, a threshold associated with a healthy labor market, for 99 consecutive weeks. That is the longest stretch since 1970, when the labor market was much smaller.Last week's data included the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, which could have impacted on the data. A Labor Department analyst said there were no special factors influencing last week's data and no states had been estimated.The labor market is viewed as being at or close to full employment , with the unemployment rate near a nine-year low of 4.7 percent. The continuing claims data covered the survey week for January's unemployment rate.The four-week average of claims increased 49,000 between the December and January survey weeks, suggesting little change in the unemployment rate this month.

Source: Economic Times January 26, 2017 14:53 UTC