WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The number of Americans who sought unemployment benefits at the end of August rose to a two-month high, but so-called initial claims are still at very low levels that suggest a low rate of layoffs in the economy.

Initial jobless claims in the period running from Aug. 23 to Aug. 29 rose by 12,000 to 282,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s the highest level since the end of June.

Still, new claims have been under the key 300,000 level for the past six months, the longest streak since 2000.

“Firms are laying off few workers, and those who do lose their jobs are finding new work quickly,” said Gus Faucher, senior economist at PNC Financial Services.

The average of new claims over the past month rose by 3,250 to 275,500, the government said. The four-week average smooths out sharp fluctuations in the more volatile weekly report and is seen as a more accurate predictor of labor-market trends.

The U.S. has added an average of 215,000 new jobs a month this year and economists predict a solid 213,000 increase in August. The government will release last month’s employment report on Friday.

The U.S. is on track to add more than 2 million jobs for the fifth straight year. Job openings are at a record, and some industries such as construction are reporting a shortage of labor. The U.S. employment rate has fallen to a post-recession low of 5.3% from a 10% peak in late 2009.

Yet even with the upsurge in hiring, the number of unemployed is still unusually high, workers haven’t seen much increase in their wages and the percentage of able-bodied people in the labor force is the lowest in decades. The labor market still has much room for improvement, economists say.

Meanwhile, continuing jobless claims fell by 9,000 to 2.26 million in the week ended Aug. 22. These claims, reported with a two-week lag, reflect the number of people already receiving unemployment checks.