WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The number of people who sought new U.S. unemployment benefits in the second week of April rose to the highest level in six weeks, government data showed Thursday.
Initial jobless claims rose to 294,000 in the seven days ended April 11 from a revised 282,000 the prior week, the Labor Department said.
Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected claims for regular state unemployment-insurance benefits to remain steady at 281,000 in the most recent weekly data from the estimate initially reported in the prior week. The department said there were no special factors in the report.
The Federal Reserve’s Beige Book on Wednesday reported a spate of layoffs in manufacturing and the oil sector due to the slump in energy prices.
Cheng Chen, economist at TD Securities, said the rise in claims was likely due to seasonal adjustment issues, “with the Labor Department typically struggling to adjust claims during the volatile spring break period.”
The four-week average of new claims rose 250 to 282,750.
Stock futures ESM5, -0.19% stayed lower after the claims report was released.
But longer-term trends continue to show how much the labor market has improved.
The government said continuing claims fell by 40,000 to 2.27 million in the week that ended April 4. This is the lowest level since December 2000. Continuing claims reflect the number of people already receiving benefits. The four-week average of continuing claims fell 32,750 to 2.33 million.
