Investing.com - The number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week rose more than expected, but still held near their lowest levels in 48 years.
The number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending March 3 increased by 21,000 to a seasonally adjusted 231,000 from the previous week’s total of 210,000, the U.S. Department of Labor said.
Analysts expected jobless claims to rise by 10,000 to 220,000 last week.
The four-week moving average was 222,500, up 2,000 from the previous week. The monthly average is seen as a more accurate gauge of labor trends because it reduces volatility in the week-to-week data.
Continuing jobless claims in the week ended Feb. 24 fell to 1.870 million from 1.934 million in the preceding week, compared to expectations for a drop to 1.921 million.