US Weekly Jobless Claims Rise By 13,000 To 282K

Washington (Dec 10)  First-time weekly jobless claims in the U.S. rose by 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 282,000 during the week to Saturday, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The data was much higher than expectations as consensus forecasts compiled by various news organizations called for initial claims to fall to 266,000. The previous week's data was unrevised from 269,250.

Meanwhile, the four-week moving average for new claims – often viewed as a more reliable measure of the labor market since it evens out week-to-week volatility – rose by 1,500 claims to 270,750.

There were no special factors impacting this week's initial claims, the Labor Department said.

 Continuing jobless claims, the number of people already receiving benefits and reported with a one-week delay, rose by 82,000 to a seasonally adjusted 2.243 million during the week ending Nov. 28.

Source: KitcoNews