First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose by much more than expected in the week ended August 16th, according to a repot released by the Labor Department on Thursday.
The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 235,000, an increase of 11,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 224,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 225,000.
The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also edged up to 226,250, an increase of 4,500 from the previous week's unrevised average of 221,750.
Meanwhile, the report said continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, climbed by 30,000 to 1.972 million in the week ended August 9th.
With the increase, continuing claims reached their highest level since hitting 2.041 million in the week ended November 6, 2021.
The four-week moving average of continuing claims also rose to 1,954,500, an increase of 6,500 from the previous week's revised average of 1,948,000.