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The numbers: The number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits last week rose to a three-week high of 198,000, but they are still extremely low and show little sign of rapidly accelerating layoffs.
New U.S. applications for benefits increased by 7,000 from 191,000 in the prior week, the government said Thursday. .
The number of people applying for jobless benefits is one of the best barometers of whether the economy is getting better or worse. New unemployment filings remain near historically low levels.
Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had forecast new claims to total 198,000 in the seven days ended March 25. The numbers are seasonally adjusted.
Big picture: The low level of jobless claims — aka layoffs — indicates the economy is still in expansion mode. Many companies are doing brisk business, especially in the service side of the economy, and they are still hiring
Wall Street is watching jobless benefits closely, however. They are one of the first indicators to emit danger signals when the U.S. is headed toward recession.
Market reaction: The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
and S&P 500
SPX,
were set to open higher in Thursday trades.
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