The data from
the Labour Department showed on
Thursday that the number of applications for unemployment increased in line with
expectations last week.
According to
the report, the initial claims for unemployment benefits rose by 6,000 to 222,000 for the week that ended April 19 weekly total in
seven weeks. Economists had expected
222,000 new claims last week.
Claims for the prior week were revised upward to 216,000
from the original estimate of 215,000.
Meanwhile, the
four-week moving average of jobless claims slipped to 220,250 from an upwardly revised 221,000 (from 220,750) in the previous week. This marked
the lowest count since mid-February.
As for
continuing claims, they fell to 1,841,000 from a downwardly revised
1,878,000 (from 1,885,000) in the previous week. This represented the lowest
reading since early February. Economists
had forecast continuing jobless claims of 1,880,000.