US initial claims increase to 228,000

Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at an accelerated clip in the week ended 8 October, according to the Department of Labor.

The advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims rose by 9,000 week-on-week to 228,000, while the four-week moving average came to 211,500, an increase of 5,000 from the previous week's unrevised average of 206,500.

The largest increases in initial claims for the week were in Puerto Rico, Missouri, Massachusetts, North Carolina, and California, while the largest decreases were in Florida, Ohio, Georgia, Virginia, and New York.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com