WASHINGTON – Seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims rose to 380,000 for the week ending April 7, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
The 380,000 of claims were up 13,000 from the previous week's revised level of 367,000, originally reported as 357,000.
Continuing claims fell to 3.251 million for the week ending March 31, the lowest since July 19, 2008, when they were 3.224 million.
The 3.251 million of continuing claims was down 98,000 from the previous week's revised level of 3.349 million, originally reported as 3.338 million.
The 380,000 of initial claims were higher than the median estimate of 355,000 projected by economists polled by Thomson Reuters, while the 3.251 million of continuing claims were lower than their median estimate of 3.340 million.
The four-week moving average for initial claims was 368,500, down 4,250 from the previous week's revised average of 364,250, originally reported as 361,750.
The four-week moving average for continuing claims was 3.334 million, a drop of 35,750 from the preceding week's revised average of 3.370 million and the lowest since Aug. 16, 2008, when they totaled 3.328 million.
The Labor Department estimated data for the U.S. Virgin Islands after offices in that territory were closed for a few days.
