First-time claims for unemployment benefits fell slightly last week, quelling concern that the labor market is healing despite the recent slow down in hiring. Weekly applications fell by 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 367,000 in the week ended May 5, from the previous week's upwardly revised figure of 368,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure than the weekly figure, fell for the first time since March, dropping by 5,250 to 379,000, from the previous week's revised average of 384,250.
The economy and the trend of employment will play a key role in the November elections.
Economists say that when claims drop consistently below 375,000 that job creation is hitting a fast enough pace to lower the unemployment rate.
Claims trended upward in April, raising concerns that the labor market's strong improvement throughout the winter was ebbing. But claims fell sharply last week and continued slow and steady progress this week.
Employers added only 115,000 jobs in April but economists expect to see figures back near 200,000 or so in the summer months. The unemployment rate fell to 8.1 percent last month, but mainly because people gave up looking for a work.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was among economists who warned that job creation from December through February was too fast for the pace of economic growth.
The economy expanded by 2.2 percent during the first three months of the year, below the 3 percent rate during the October-December period.
On average, the economy added more than 250,000 jobs a month over the winter, the best streak of growth since June 2009 when the recession officially ended.
During the unseasonably warm winter, employers added jobs that usually wait until spring, with some economists calling the slower hiring in March and April "payback" for the good weather.
About 3.23 million people received benefits in the week ended April 28, down from 3.29 million. The number of those who have exhausted their state-level benefits and received federal checks also dropped by 40,500 fewer to 3.04 million.
The numbers are expected to keep dropping as states are weaned off benefits as part of legislation passed earlier this year.
All told, the economy has created 3.8 million jobs on the road to making up for an 8.8 million loss during the period during the downturn.
There was another positive for the job market this week an increase in the number of job openings. The Labor Department reported that employers were looking to fill 3.74 million positions, the highest amount in nearly four years.
