Jobless Claims Rise Last Week
Initial jobless claims increased last week, the Labor Department reported Feb. 27.
Claims for the week ended Feb. 22 increased by 14,000 to 348,000, Bloomberg News reported.
The number of claims was above all analysts’ median forecast of 335,000, according to Bloomberg.
“We expect new hiring to pick up gradually over the course of the year,” Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James & Associates Inc., told Bloomberg. “It’s kind of a mixed bag, and it is still a long way from normal, but the job market is gradually getting better.”
The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, was unchanged at 338,250.
Continuing jobless claims for the week ended Feb. 8 rose by 8,000, to 2.96 million.
