Initial jobless claims increased to a seasonally adjusted 460,000 for the week ending April 3, the first growth in three weeks, as seasonal volatility due to the Easter holiday affected claims reporting in some states, the Labor Department reported yesterday.
Continuing unemployment claims decreased 131,000 to 4.550 million, the largest weekly drop since Jan. 2, and the lowest level of continuing claims since December 2008.
Economists expected 434,000 initial claims and 4.650 million continuing claims, according to the median estimate from Thomson Reuters.
Initial claims for the week ending March 27 were revised higher to 442,000 from the 439,000 reported last week.
Initial claims have fallen from a high of 651,000 claims set in March 2009 amid the worst of the recession.
Continuing claims were revised to 4.681 million from 4.662 million for the week ending March 20.
The four-week moving average of initial claims fell to 450,250.
