Initial jobless claims surged 24,000 to 329,000 in the week ended April 12, the Labor Department said Thursday.
Claims for the week ended April 12 were revised to 305,000 from the 304,000 initially reported.
Continuing jobless claims were 2.680 million in the week ended April 12, down from the upwardly revised 2.741 million the week before, first reported as 2.739 million.
Economists polled by Thomson Reuters expected 310,000 initial and 2.740 million continuing claims.
The four-week average of initial claims were up 4,750 in the week ended April 19 to 316,750.
