Thomson ReutersLeaflets lie on a table at a booth at a military veterans’ job fair in CarsonWASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week, but the trend continued to point to a strengthening labor market. This is the lowest level since April 2000.

Despite the uptick in claims last week, the four-week average remains low from a historical perspective, said a note from Jesse Hurwitz of Barclays.

On Thursday, the weekly report on initial jobless claims showed claims totaled 274,000 last week, right in-line with expectations for 270,000.

No special factors affected this week’s initial claims. The revised claims for the previous week showed 1,000 fewer applications received than previously reported. Estimates of the 50 economists ranged from 260,000 to 281,000. A Labor Department counselor said you could never find wonderful components having an influence on the comprehensive data and no tells us appeared to be extrapolated. Continuing claims reflect the number of people already receiving benefits.

In July, the economy added 215,000 jobs and the unemployment rate remained at 5.3 percent, a seven-year low.

While jobs growth has slowed this year from the burst of hiring in 2014, employers continue to add to their payrolls at a steady pace.

New York Fed President William Dudley said on Wednesday that the central bank is approaching the moment when it can start raising interest rates, though the exact timing will be dictated by incoming economic data. Prices of merchandise and materials imported to the U.S. dropped 0.9 percent in July, the biggest decline since January.