The data from
the Labour Department showed on Thursday that the number of applications for
unemployment unexpectedly
jumped last week.
According to
the report, the initial claims for unemployment benefits surged by 18,000 to 242,000 for the week that ended December 7. This marked the highest weekly total since mid-October. Economists had forecast
220,000 new claims last week. Claims for the
prior week were left unrevised at 224,000.
Meanwhile, the
four-week moving average of jobless claims increased to 224,250 from an upwardly revised 218,500 (from 218,250) in the previous week. This represented the highest count since early November.
As for
continuing claims, they rose to 1,886,000,
from an unrevised 1,871,000 in the previous week. Economists
had foreseen continuing jobless claims of 1,880,000.