The data from the Labour Department showed on Thursday the number of applications
for unemployment climbed more than forecast last week.
According to the report, the initial claims for unemployment benefits jumped by 12,000 to 218,000 for the week ended December 23. This
marked the highest weekly total in
three weeks. Economists had foreseen 210,000 new claims last week.
Claims
for the prior week were revised upwardly to 206,000 from the original estimate
of 205,000.
Meanwhile, the four-week moving average of jobless claims slipped to 212,000 from an
upwardly revised 212,250 (from 212,000) in the previous week. This represented the
lowest count in eight weeks.
As for continuing claims, they rose to 1,875,000 from a downwardly revised
1,861,000 (from 1,865,000) in the previous week. This was the highest
reading in four weeks. Economists had predicted continuing jobless claims of 1,875,000.