Jobless claims up, but labor market sturdy

Rise doesn’t darken big picture of healthy U.S. employment climate

WASHINGTON - The number of newly laid off people signing up for jobless benefits went up last week but that didn’t darken the big picture of a mostly healthy employment climate across the country.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that new applications filed for unemployment insurance rose by a seasonally adjusted 2,000 to 318,000 for the week ending June 30. The level of claims was slightly higher than the 315,000 that economists were expecting but nevertheless was in a range that pointed to a sturdy job market — aside from pockets of weakness in construction and other industries still feeling the strain of the yearlong housing slump.

The four-week moving average of new claims, which smooths out week-to-week fluctuations, rose by 1,750 last week to 318,500, the highest since late April.