U.S. initial jobless claims fall to 268,000

The number of Americans initially applying for unemployment aid fell for a second week, a signal that job market is kept stable.

In the week ending May 21, the advance figure of seasonally adjusted initial claims for jobless benefits fell to 268,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the unrevised level of the previous week, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday.

Meanwhile, the four-week moving average, which helps smooth out week-to-week volatility, increased by 2,750 to 278,500 last week. The advance figure of seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending May 14 increased 10,000 from the previous week to 2,163,000.

This marks 64 consecutive weeks of initial claims below 300,000, a benchmark for real job growth or loss in the economy, the longest streak since 1973, said the Labor Department. Enditem