Editor’s note: Updating earlier story with more details from report
(Kitco News) –First-time weekly jobless claims in the U.S. rose by 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 285,000 during the week to Saturday, the Labor Department said Thursday.
Consensus expectations compiled by various news organizations had called for initial claims to be around 280,000.
The government revised the prior week’s tally to 277,000 claims from the previously reported 278,000.
Meanwhile, the four-week moving average for new claims – often viewed as a more reliable measure of the labor market since it smoothens out week-to-week volatility – was up by 2,000 claims to 284,750.
There were no special factors impacting this week’s initial claims, the Labor Department said.
Continuing jobless claims, the number of people already receiving benefits and reported with a one-week delay, decreased by 18,000 to a seasonally adjusted 2,255,000 during the week ending Jan. 23, the government said. The four-week moving average rose by 5,250 to 2,252,750.
Traders monitor jobs data closely to gauge how aggressively the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee alters monetary policy.
By Allen Sykora of Kitco News; asykora@kitco.com