New applicants for unemployment aid in the US came in higher than forecast, even as the previous week’s reading was increased as part of a multiyear seasonal adjustment to the estimation of the data model.
There were 228,000 initial jobless claims on a seasonally adjusted basis in the week to April 1, according to US labour department data released on Thursday, surpassing economist expectations of 200,000 claims. Last week’s reading was revised up by 48,000 claims to 246,000 as part of the seasonal adjustments.
Over the past 12 months, the updated data show the four-week average of jobless claims was at its lowest — at about 190,000 — in late September and has since ticked higher to more than 237,000 and hovering near its highest in at least a year.
Continuing claims, which measure the number of Americans actively receiving unemployment aid, increased to 1.82mn. That missed economists’ expectations for 1.7mn and topped last week’s upwardly revised reading of 1.8mn.
