Jobless Claims Rise 8,000 To 362,000 in Week

WASHINGTON — Seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims rose to 362,000 in the week ended March 3, an increase of 8,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 354,000, originally reported as 351,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

Continuing claims were up to 3.416 million for the week ending Feb. 25, an increase of 10,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 3.406 million, originally reported as 3.402 million.

The 362,000 of initial claims was greater than the 351,000 median projection from economists polled by Thomson Reuters, and the 3.416 million continuing claims were higher than their median estimate of 3.400 million.

The four-week moving average for initial claims was 355,000, an increase of 250 from the previous week’s revised average of 354,750.

The four-week moving average for continuing claims was 3.418 million. That represented a decrease of 27,500 from the preceding week’s revised average of 3.445 million and the lowest since Aug. 30, 2008, when it was at a 3.401 million level.

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