MW: U.S. weekly jobless claims rise 21,000 to 311,000
By Ruth Mantell
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The number of people who applied for unemployment benefits rose 21,000 to 311,000 in the week the ended Aug. 9, hitting the highest level since June, according to government data released Thursday. Despite that rise, weekly claims remained near pre-recession levels, signaling a slow pace of layoffs. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected initial claims for regular state unemployment-insurance benefits to rise to 300,000 in the most recent weekly data from an originally reported 289,000 for the prior period. On Thursday, the government tweaked initial claims for the week that ended Aug. 2 to 290,000. The four-week average of new claims, a trend that's less volatile than weekly changes, rose 2,000 to 295,750, the U.S. Labor Department reported. Also Thursday, the government reported that continuing claims, which show the number of people already receiving benefits, rose 25,000 to 2.54 million in the week that ended Aug. 2. The four-week average for continuing claims increased 9,000 to 2.53 million.
