Initial weekly US jobless claims rise moderately

The U.S. jobs market remained tight during the previous week, although the Easter break may have distorted the latest figures.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, in seasonally adjusted terms the number of initial unemployment claims increased by 9,000 over the week ending on 30 March to reach 221,000.

The four-week moving average, which aims to smooth out the variations in the data from one week to the next, rose by 2,750 to 214,250.

Secondary unemployment claims, which are those not being filed for the first time and referencing the week that finished on 23 March, slipped by 19,000 to hit 1.791m.

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