Initial US jobless claims jump unexpectedly during latest week

Initial US jobless claims jumped unexpectedly during the previous week while secondary claims, which track hiring conditions, were roughly flat.

According to the Department of Labor, the number of Americans filing for unemployment claims for the first time increased by 45,000 during the week ending on 13 March to reach 770,000.

That compared poorly to a forecast from economists at Barclays Research for a reading of 695,000.

The four-week moving average for claims on the other retreated by 16,000 to 746,250.

The moving average aims to smooth out the fluctuations in the initial claims data from one week to the next.

Secondary unemployment claims data meanwhile, which track those claims which are not being filed for the first time and which reference the week prior, in this case that finishing on 6 March, were little changed, dipping by 18,000 to 4.124m.