labor market showed another sign of tepid growth Thursday when the government reported that new claims for
unemployment benefits essentially were flat in the latest week.
The Labor Department reported that seasonally-adjusted claims for jobless benefits decreased by 2,000 to 370,000 in the week ended May 19. Economists had been expecting the data to be flat.
The four-week moving average, considered a more accurate gauge of job market health, fell 5,500 to 375,500.