The number of out-of-work Americans filing the first time for state unemployment benefits rose by 17,000 last week, the government reported Thursday.
The increase, much larger than what most economists had expected, came after a decline of 31,000 the previous week. That had been the first drop in a month. The report was released a day before the government was to announce unemployment figures for April.The Labor Department said 350,000 people filed initial claims in the week ended April 30, up from 333,000 the previous week. Most analysts had predicted a much more modest increase of about 2,000.
Many economists maintain that such increases do not represent a decaying job market, which has shown steady improvement in recent months.
Last month the Labor Department reported the creation of 456,000 new jobs in March, the biggest jump in more than six years. Most analysts are predicting that Friday's report will show a much more moderate increase of about 170,000 for April.
The Labor Department said its four-week moving average of jobless claims was 349,750, up 3,500 from the previous week's revised figure of 346,250. The four-week average is the number most closely watched by economists because it smooths out weekly fluctuations in the volatile weekly numbers.
For the week ended April 23, a total of 1,527 claims were filed under a federal emergency unemployment program. That program has not been extended by Congress, but there are lingering claims.
In the same week, 43 states and territories reported a decrease in the number of people filing initial claims. Decreases were registered in eight states and territories, while two said the number of claims was unchanged.
Figures for emergency claims and the individual state figures lag the overall total and the four-week moving average by a week.
Reporting the largest increases were Massachusetts, 2,924; Rhode Island, 847; Connecticut, 608; Alaska, 151; and Nevada, 62. The largest decreases were reported by New York, 4,099; South Carolina, 4,076; Illinois, 3,168; Tennessee, 2,437; and Ohio, 1,760.