Applications for US unemployment benefits were little changed last week, steadying at low levels after a volatile holiday season.
Initial claims increased by 1,000 to 200,000 in the week ended Jan. 17, according to Labor Department data released Thursday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 209,000.
Applications have been at or below 200,000 just a few times in the past three years, most of them around the holidays. Such figures are consistent with a labor market defined by limited layoffs.
After three consecutive rate cuts in an effort to bolster the job market, Federal Reserve officials are widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged at their first policy meeting of the year next week.
The four-week moving average of new applications, a metric that helps smooth out volatility, fell to 201,500 last week, a two-year low.
Before adjusting for seasonal factors, initial claims also dropped last week. New York, Georgia and Texas saw some of the largest declines.
Continuing claims, a proxy for the number of people receiving benefits, fell to 1.85 million in the previous week to the lowest since November.
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