IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
The rise in new unemployment claims happened at a lower rate than expected last week, another sign that the job market is getting stronger.
Claims in California increased by 11,000 to 278,000 for the week that ended Jan. 31, according to a Reuters report
The previous week, claims declined to their lowest level since April 2000.
Some economists had predicted that unemployment claims would rise to 290,000 last week, according to the report, which cited data released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor.
The four-week trend of average claims – which is considered a better indication of the market because it takes week-to-week volatility out of the equation – showed a decline of 6,500 claims.
About 2.4 million U.S. residents received unemployment benefits during the week that ended Jan. 24, according to Reuters.
