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WASHINGTON — <\/span>WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 <\/p>\n More Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, but layoffs are still rare and jobless claims remain at historically low levels.<\/p>\n The Labor Department reported Thursday filings for benefits ticked up to 206,000 last week from a revised 204,000 the week before. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out week-to-week volatility, rose modestly to 207,250 last week.<\/p>\n Claims for jobless benefits are a proxy for layoffs, and economists watch them because they can be a sign of where the job market is headed. For the past year, claims have mostly stayed within a historically low range of 200,000 to 230,000 a week.<\/p>\n Companies, remembering the worker shortages that followed the end of COVID-19 lockups, are still reluctant to let go of staff. The unemployment rate is low at 4.1%.<\/p>\n But employers aren\u2019t eager to take on new workers. The Labor Department reported Tuesday that gross hiring \u2014 before subtracting people who lost or left their jobs \u2014 fell 5% to fewer than 5.1 million new jobs. The result is what economists call a “no-hire, no-fire” labor market in which those have work enjoy job security but times are tough for young workers trying to land an entry-level job or unemployed people seeking to get back to work.<\/p>\n