WASHINGTON – Initial jobless claims increased 12,000 to 500,000 for the week ending Aug. 14, the third straight increase in weekly claims and the highest level for the calendar year, the Labor Department reported today.
Continuing claims decreased to 4.478 million in the week ending Aug. 7, the second consecutive decrease and the lowest level since June.
Economists expected 476,000 initial claims and 4.500 million continuing claims, according to the median estimate from Thomson Reuters.
Initial claims were last above 500,000 in November. Seasonal factors expected a decrease in initial claims, a Labor Department official said.
The four-week moving average for initial claims, a less volatile figure, increased for the fourth week in a row to 482,500, the highest level since December.
Initial claims for the week ending Aug. 7 were revised higher to 488,000 from 484,000 initially reported. Continuing claims for the week ending July 31 were revised to 4.491 million from 4.452 million.
Alaska's initial claims data were estimated for last week. Two states reported a decline of more than 1,000 for the week ending Aug. 7. Ten states reported an increase of more than 1,000 for the week.
