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First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly increased in the week ended August 15th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.
The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 1.106 million, an increase of 135,000 from the previous week's revised level of 971,000.
The increase surprised economists, who had expected jobless claims to drop to 925,000 from the 963,000 originally reported for the previous week.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average fell to 1,175,750, a decrease of 79,000 from the previous week's revised average of 1,254,750.
