Initial claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell by 5,000 to 227,000 for the week ended Feb. 7, below expectations of 222,000, the Labor Department said.
The decline reversed only a small portion of the previous week’s surge attributed to winter storms and seasonal fluctuations.
While job growth picked up in January and the unemployment rate fell to 4.3%, economists still describe the labor market as in a “low hire, low termination” state.
Continuing claims rose 21,000 to 1.862 million, reflecting challenges in hiring momentum.
While the duration of long-term unemployment eased slightly, the median length of unemployment remained high with recent graduates among the hardest hit.
