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New claims for unemployment benefits edged up 11,000 in the most recent week to 227,000, the U.S. labor department reported.
The gain increased the benchmark four-week average by 500 to 231,250.
Continuing claims rose fractionally from 1.47 million in the previous week to 1.49 million.
Jobless claims have been trending down since a slight bump up in January that coincided with the Omicron variant’s surge.
“The labor market, despite headwinds from inflationary pressures, remains strong,” The Wall Street Journal said.
TREND FORECAST: The high spike of job creation that has slowed down, will again gain momentum as America enters into the warm weather spring and summer months. What will derail job growth is an economic slump that will result from an equities market meltdown and/or increased warfare in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.