The data from
the Labour Department revealed on
Thursday that the number of applications for unemployment rose much more than forecast last week.
According to
the report, the initial claims for unemployment benefits jumped by 11,000 to 224,000 for the week ended November 30. This marked the
first gain in first-time unemployment claims in four weeks and represented the highest weekly total since the week ended October 19 (228,000). Economists had expected
215,000 new claims last week.
Claims for the
prior week were left unrevised at 213,000.
Meanwhile, the
four-week moving average of jobless claims climbed to 218,250 from an upwardly revised 217,500 (from 217,000) in the previous week. This was the
first advance in six weeks.
As for
continuing claims, they declined to 1,871,000 from a downwardly revised
1,896,000 (from 1,907,000) in the previous week. This marked the lowest reading in five weeks. Economists had predicted continuing jobless claims of 1,910,000.