The numbers: One week after falling sharply, the number of people who applied for U.S. unemployment benefits in mid-September inched higher, the government said Thursday.
Initial jobless claims, a rough way to measure layoffs, rose 2,000 to 208,000 in the seven days ended Sept. 14, the government said Thursday. Claims fell a revised 13,000 to 206,000, a nearly five-month low, in the prior week.
Economists polled by MarketWatch estimated new claims would total a seasonally adjusted 215,000.
The more stable monthly average of new claims fell by a smaller 750 to 212,250. The four-week average gives a more accurate read into labor-market conditions than the more volatile weekly number.
What happened: Actual or unadjusted jobless claims rose in only a few states like Texas, California, and North Carolina. If the strike by workers at General Motor Co. GM, -0.29% lasts long enough, there could be more layoffs at companies that make tires and seats and other products for the GM system, economists said.
Big picture: Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Wednesday pointed to the strong labor market as a reason for optimism about the U.S. economy even as manufacturing is weak and businesses are increasingly uncertain because of the U.S.-China trade war. A majority of Fed officials think a modest adjustment to interest rates should keep the expansion going.
Market reaction: Stocks DJIA, +0.13% were set to open lower after the Fed cut its benchmark interest rate for the second time in as many months on Wednesday. Traders had hoped Powell would be open to re-starting asset purchases, known as quantitative easing.