MW:U.S. jobless claims total 386,000 in latest week
By Jeffry Bartash
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The number of Americans who filed requests for jobless benefits totaled 386,000 last week, keeping claims at a four-month high, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday. Claims from two weeks ago were revised up to 388,000 from an initial reading of 380,000. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had projected claims would drop to a seasonally adjusted 374,000 in the week ended April 14, so the number is likely to disappoint investors. The average of new claims over the past four weeks, meanwhile, rose by 5,500 to 374,750, the highest level since late January. Continuing claims increased by 26,000 to a seasonally adjusted 3.3 million in the week ended April 7, the Labor Department said. Continuing claims are reported with a one-week lag. About 6.77 million people received some kind of state or federal benefit in the week ended March 31, down 187,807 from the prior week. Total claims are reported with a two-week lag.
