Jobless claims rise but the labor market remains strong

First-time claims for jobless benefits increased last week but remain at levels reflecting a healthy labor market.

Weekly applications for unemployment insurance rose 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 277,000, a sign that employers are hanging onto their workers and aren’t being rattled by global economic turbulence, the Labor Department said Thursday.

{mosads}The four-week average, a figure that better shows the direction of the labor market, dropped 1,000 to 270,750.

The labor market is hanging tough even as China’s policy leading to a drop in the value of its currency, the yuan, created turbulence across the world’s financial markets. 

On Friday, a government report is expected to show that employers added about 200,000 jobs in September while the jobless rate is expected to remain at 5.1 percent. 

Unemployment claims last eclipsed 300,000 in February and have maintained historically low levels since then, with employers adding about 200,000 jobs a month in response to growing consumer demand and a strengthening economy.  

Last week, the Commerce Department said that economic growth hit a 3.9 percent annual pace in the April-June quarter, up from 3.7 percent first reported in August.

Payroll processor ADP reported Wednesday that private-sector employers added a robust 200,000 jobs in September. 

Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Analytics, said he expects the labor market to march toward full employment by next summer and, along with the improvement, should come a long-awaited boost in wages for workers.