By Scott Kanowsky
Investing.com -- The number of Americans filing for unemployment insurance grew by more than expected last week, according to Labor Department data on Thursday.
Seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims rose to 225,000 for the week ended on November 5, increasing from an upwardly revised previous reading of 218,000. Economists had estimated that the figure would come in at 220,000.
The four-week moving average - which aims to account for volatility in the data - was broadly unchanged, dropping by just 250 to 218,750.
Meanwhile, continuing claims, a measurement of the number of unemployed individuals who qualify for unemployment benefits, unexpectedly moved up to 1.493 million from 1.487M in the prior week. Economists had predicted a decline to 1.475M.
If this number keeps climbing, it could be a sign that more Americans are out of work for a longer period of time.