First-time claims for state unemployment benefits rose a seasonally adjusted 27,000 to 640,000 in the week ended April 18, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The four-week average of initial claims fell 4,250 to 646,750 in the most recent weekly data. The four-week average is considered a better gauge of labor market conditions than the volatile weekly figures because it smoothes out one-time distortions caused by holidays, bad weather or strikes. Initial claims fell a revised 47,000 in the prior week. For the week ended April 11, the number of people collecting state unemployment benefits reached yet another new record, rising 93,000 to 6.14 million -- more than double the level in the prior year. Continuing claims have reached new weekly records since late January, signaling that workers are having a tough time finding jobs. The four-week average of continuing claims rose 142,500 to a record 5.94 million. The insured unemployment rate -- the proportion of covered workers who are receiving benefits -- rose to 4.6% from 4.5%, reaching the highest level since January 1983. Initial claims represent job destruction, while the level of continuing claims indicates how hard or easy it is for displaced workers to find new jobs. The latest claims report shows that finding a replacement job remains difficult. Escalating levels of initial and continuing claims signal prospects for double-digit unemployment, in the view of many economists. Typically, state unemployment benefits run out after 26 weeks for those who are eligible. Benefits are generally available for those who lose their full-time job through no fault of their own. Those who exhaust their unemployment benefits are still counted as unemployed if they are actively looking for work.

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