Initial claims for unemployment benefits in the United States rose above the consensus expectation to 516k in the week ending Nov. 8, down from the previous week's upwardly revised 484k level, the Department of Labor reported on Thursday. Continuing claims rose to 3.897 million for the week ending Nov. 1, higher than expected and the prior week's downwardly revised figure of 3.832 million.
Initial jobless claims were expected to fall to 480k. Last week's figure was revised up by 3k to 484k.
The four-week moving average for initial claims is now 491k, higher than the 477k in the previous week.
Continuing claims were expected to come in at 3.825 million for the week ending Nov. 1, following the previous week's downwardly revised figure of 3.832 million.
Continuing claims have been above the 3 million mark for 26 consecutive weeks. The four-week moving average is now 3.794 million, up from the moving average of 3.751 million in the previous week.
Claims have recently been higher than normal following new rules introduced by the Department of Labor that made filing for unemployment benefits easier, as well as effects from recent hurricanes, although economists agree these effects are beginning to wear off.
Prior to the release, economists from Barclays Capital said they expect claims to continue to trend higher and highlight the deterioration in the job market. "We expect claims to ratchet higher in coming months as economic conditions deteriorate, peaking in the middle of 2009."
By Stephen Huebl and edited by Nancy Girgis
©CEP News Ltd. 2008