Investing.com - The number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. rose significantly more-than-expected last week, hitting the highest level since March, official data showed on Thursday.
In a report, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending October 5 increased by 66,000 to a seasonally adjusted 374,000.
Jobless claims for the preceding week rose by 308,000.
Analysts had expected U.S. jobless claims to rise by 2,000 to 310,000 last week.
Continuing jobless claims in the week ended September 27 fell to 2.905 million. Analysts had expected continuing claims to decline to 2.900 million from last week’s revised figure of 2.921 million.
The four-week moving average was 325,000, an increase of 20,000 from the previous week's average of 305,000.
The monthly average is seen as a more accurate gauge of labor trends because it reduces volatility in the week-to-week data.
Following the release of the data, the U.S. dollar held on to losses against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.11% to trade at 1.3537.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a gain of 0.7%, S&P 500 futures indicated a rise of 0.8%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures signaled a 0.8% increase.
In a report, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending October 5 increased by 66,000 to a seasonally adjusted 374,000.
Jobless claims for the preceding week rose by 308,000.
Analysts had expected U.S. jobless claims to rise by 2,000 to 310,000 last week.
Continuing jobless claims in the week ended September 27 fell to 2.905 million. Analysts had expected continuing claims to decline to 2.900 million from last week’s revised figure of 2.921 million.
The four-week moving average was 325,000, an increase of 20,000 from the previous week's average of 305,000.
The monthly average is seen as a more accurate gauge of labor trends because it reduces volatility in the week-to-week data.
Following the release of the data, the U.S. dollar held on to losses against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.11% to trade at 1.3537.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a gain of 0.7%, S&P 500 futures indicated a rise of 0.8%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures signaled a 0.8% increase.