US unemployment claims tick up to 259,000, but remain low

WASHINGTON (AP) - More Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, but jobless claims remained low enough to suggest that most Americans enjoy job security.

The Labor Department says weekly claims for unemployment aid rose by 22,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 259,000. The less volatile four-week average was 245,500, down by 2,000 and lowest since November 1973.

Weekly claims have now come in below 300,000 for 99 straight weeks, longest streak since 1970.

Overall, 2.1 million Americans are collecting unemployment checks, down 6.6 percent from a year ago.

Unemployment claims are a proxy for layoffs. The low levels suggest that employers are confident enough to be hanging on to their workers. The unemployment rate is 4.7 percent, near a nine-year low and close to what economists consider full employment.