The number of Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment benefits jumped by 8,000 last week to the highest level since early September.
The Labor Department report Thursday showed that initial claims for state jobless benefits climbed to 330,000 after having fallen for three straight weeks.While many analysts had been expecting claims to hold steady, some had cautioned that there was a historical tendency for the claims number to climb sharply in early November.
Analysts cautioned against reading too much into the big jump, saying that the weekly benefits number is extremely volatile. They said that a better indicator of current labor market trends was the monthly unemployment report released last Friday that showed the jobless rate fell to 5.8 percent in October, the lowest level in four years.
The 330,000 Americans filing first-time claims was the highest level since a similar number filed for the week ending Sept. 3.
The Labor Department said its four-week moving average of jobless claims rose modestly to 325,250, up from 325,000 the previous week. This average is watched more closely by economists than the weekly number because it smooths out the weekly fluctuations.
The Labor Department said 18 states and territories posted increases in the number of claims in the week ended Oct. 29, while decreases were reported by 35.