The data from
the Labour Department revealed on
Thursday the number of applications for unemployment increased more
than expected last week.
According to
the report, the initial claims for unemployment benefits jumped by
13,000 to 215,000 for the week ended February
24. This was the first rise in first-time unemployment claims in four weeks and
represented the highest weekly total reading since early February.
Economists had forecast
210,000 new claims last week.
Claims for the prior week
were revised upwardly to 202,000 from the original estimate of 201,000.
Meanwhile, the
four-week moving average of jobless claims decreased to 212,500 from an upwardly revised 215,500 (from
215,250) in the previous week. This was the lowest count in four weeks.
As for
continuing claims, they climbed to 1,905,000 from a downwardly revised 1,860,000
(from 1,862,000) in the previous week. This marked the highest reading since the week ended November 18, 2023 (1,925,000). Economists had predicted continuing jobless claims of 1,874,000.