Initial jobless claims fell less than expected.
Claims fell to 278,000, below economists' expectations of a drop to 275,000, according to Bloomberg.
Notably, jobless claims have now been below the 300,000 threshold for 63 straight weeks.
Meanwhile, the 4-week moving average was 275,750, an increase of 7,500 from the previous week's unrevised average of 268,250.
The report noted no special factors.
"This week's data cover the reference week for the May payrolls report. With claims up by 30,000 and the four-week average up by 15,000 since the reference week for the April report, the claims data might lead us to expect another weak reading on payrolls in May," wrote JP Morgan's Jesse Edgerton in an emailed note to clients. "But it is difficult to know how possible seasonal adjustment issues in the claims data affect the quality of the signal for payrolls."
Last week, claims unexpectedly jumped by 20,000 to 294,000 — the highest level since the week of February 28, 2015.