Initial US jobless claims jump to 313,000 in latest week

Initial weekly jobless claims registered an unexpected jump over the last week.

The number of people registering for government unemployment insurance rose by 21,000 in the seven days ending on 22 November, from 313,000 in the previous week, data from the US Department of Labor revealed.

The consensus estimate had been for a tally of 288,000.

A more stable measure of unemployment, the four-week moving average, increased by 6,250 to reach 294,000.

Secondary unemployment claims slipped by 17,000, hitting 2.316m.