The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits edged up slightly last week but remained at a level consistent with modest gains in hiring.
The Labor Department says unemployment benefit applications rose by 2,000 to 366,000.
The less volatile four-week average fell by 5,500 to 363,750. That was the lowest level since late March.
Applications have trended lower in the past two months, a sign that companies are laying off fewer workers and hiring is picking up.
When applications fall consistently below 375,000, it generally suggests hiring is strong enough to lower the unemployment rate.
The economy and hiring improved in July after falling into a midyear slump. Employers added 163,000 jobs last month, the best job growth since February.
Meanwhile, US builders slowed their pace of housing construction slightly in July. But in a hopeful sign for future construction, applications for building permits rose to the highest level since August 2008.
The Commerce Department said today that construction of single-family homes and apartments dipped 1.1% in July compared with June, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 746,000. In June, the rate had been 754,000, the fastest pace since October 2008.
Housing has been making a modest comeback this year. But even with the gains, the rate of construction and the level of permits remain only about half the 1.5 million annual rate considered healthy.
In June, single-family housing starts, which account for more than 70% of residential construction, rose for the straight month in a row to a two-year high.
The housing boom drove construction to record levels in the middle of last decade, peaking in January 2006 at a rate of nearly 2.3 million. But then the bubble burst in late 2006 and 2007 and construction ceased in most parts of the country. Starts plunged to just 478,000 homes in April 2009, the low point during the housing bust.
Building increased in early 2010 as temporary government tax credits for home buyers lifted sales, then fizzled again when the support ended. Construction picked up again last autumn, coinciding with growing optimism among builders, and it has been rising gradually since.
