Applications for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly eased for a second week, underscoring a still-tight job market in which employers are reluctant to reduce headcount.
Initial filings for jobless benefits fell by 1,000 to 191,000 in the week ended March 18, Labor Department data showed Thursday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 197,000 applications.
Continuing claims, which include people who have already received unemployment benefits for a week or more, were little changed at 1.69 million in the period ended March 11. The figure can provide clues on how easy or difficult it is for an unemployed person to find a new job.
