US filings for jobless benefits rise to 199,000 last week, but layoffs remain historically low

WASHINGTON: The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose last week but layoffs remain in the historically healthy range of the past few years.

U.S. filings for jobless aid in the week ending August 1 rose by 1,000 to 199,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The previous week's figure was revised up by 1,000 to 198,000.

Weekly filings for unemployment benefits are considered representative of layoffs and are close to a real-time indicator of the health of the U.S. job market.