US jobless claims rise from prior week's almost 52-year low

Americans filed new claims for unemployment benefits at an accelerated pace in the week ended 26 March, according to the Labor Department, with the overall figure rising by 14,000 to 202,000 - above market expectations for a print of 197,000.

However, despite the increase, that figure was still close to the prior week's revised level of 188,000 - the lowest seen since 1969.

On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, initial claims rose by 13,121 from the previous week to 195,460, with notable increases being recorded in California, Michigan, Ohio and Texas.

The four-week moving average, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, dropped 3,500 to 208,500, while continuing claims came to 1.307m for the seven-day period.

Oxford Economics' Nancy Vanden Houten said: "After falling in the prior week to the lowest level since 1969, initial jobless claims were a bit higher than expected in the week ended March 26, rising 14k to 202k. That is still a low level of claims consistent with extremely tight labor market conditions.

"We expect initial claims to remain around 200k or lower as employers, who continue to struggle to attract and retain workers, are likely to keep layoffs to a minimum."