Jobless claims stagnate

The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits was flat last week.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that 370,000 people filed new jobless claims in the week ended May 12. That was the same as the week before, after the government revised last week's figure up by 3,000.

Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast 365,000 people would file new claims.

There were also 18,000 more people receiving continuing unemployment benefits, as that reading for the week ended May 5 -- the most recent week available -- rose to 3.3 million.