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Initial claims for state unemployment benefits
rose 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 294,000 for the week ended
April 11, the Labor Department said on Thursday.
Claims for the prior week were revised to show 1,000 more
applications received than previously reported.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims slipping to
280,000 last week. A Labor Department analyst said there was
nothing unusual in the state-level data.
Claims tend to be volatile around this time of the year because
moving holidays like Easter and the school spring break can
throw off the model that the government uses to smooth the data
for seasonal fluctuations.
The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better
measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week
volatility, ticked up 250 to 282,750 last week. Claims below
300,000 are associated with a strengthening labor market.
The claims report showed the number of people still receiving
benefits after an initial week of aid fell 40,000 to 2.27
million in the week ended April 4.
That was the lowest reading since December 2000 and suggested
more long-term unemployed are getting jobs.
((Reporting By Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci))
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