Unemployment claims rose by 9K last week, Labor Dept. says ahead of jobs report

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- The number of first-time applications for unemployment benefits rose by about 9,000 last week, according to the Department of Labor, to nearly 270,000 -- a number still considered historically low.

The government's number of initial claims is a significant gauge of national layoffs and analysts say last week's seasonally adjusted numbers are a positive sign for the department's jobs report, due Friday.

"The pace of layoffs has slowed from already historically low levels," analyst Stephen Stanley, an economist at Amherst Pierpont Securities, told the Wall Street Journal. "The labor market remains quite healthy and shows no sign of running out of steam any time soon."

The moving average for claims in November fell by 1,750 to 269,250 last week, the Labor numbers show.

The number of new claims last week represents a rise from the week previous (260,000) but an overall decline from the week before that (272,000) -- and the same week in 2014, which saw 296,000 seasonally adjusted first-time claims.