US applications for unemployment benefits inch up, but remain at historically healthy levels

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose modestly last week, but the level of claims remains at healthy levels.

Jobless claims rose by 4,000 to 232,000 for the week of Aug. 17, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The four-week average of claims, which evens out some of the weekly gyrations, ticked down by 750 to 236,000.

For the week ending Aug. 10, 1.86 million Americans were collecting jobless benefits, 4,000 more than the week before.

Weekly filings for unemployment benefits, which are a proxy for layoffs, remain low by historic standards.

From January through May, claims averaged a rock-bottom 213,000 a week. But they started rising in May, hitting 250,000 in late July and adding to evidence that high interest rates are taking a toll on the U.S. job market.