2019.11.1413:07:00UTC+00U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Climb To Highest Level Since June

A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits increased by much more than expected in the week ended November 9th.

The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 225,000, an increase of 14,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 211,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 215,000.

With the much bigger than expected increase, initial jobless claims reached their highest level since hitting 229,000 in the week ended June 22nd.

The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also crept up to 217,000, an increase of 1,750 from the previous week's unrevised average of 215,250.

Meanwhile, the report said continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, fell by 10,000 to 1.683 million in the week ended November 2nd.

The four-week moving average of continuing claims was unchanged from the previous week's revised average of 1,687,750.