More U.S. workers than expected applied for state unemployment benefits last week, and jobless claims reached their highest level in more than a month, government figures showed Thursday.
First-time jobless claims rose by 20,000, to a seasonally adjusted 337,000, last week, the Labor Department reported. Analysts had expected an increase of 13,000 claims.
In the previous week, jobless claims advanced by a revised 13,000, to 317,000, initially reported as an increase of 12,000.
Last week’s increase in new claims was the third in a row, and the total may have been swelled by claims filed by some of the 185,000 Teamsters striking against Atlanta-based United Parcel Service of America Inc.
States generally don’t extend benefits to workers who are on strike, but that doesn’t necessarily prevent strikers from filing, the Labor Department said. The government’s weekly report reflects everyone who files for benefits, eligible or not.
Because the Labor Department doesn’t require states to indicate why claims rise or fall, it won’t be possible to know from the statistics how much impact the strike had on claims, officials said.
Last week’s jobless claims figure was the highest since 341,000 in the week ended July 11.
The four-week average for jobless claims, a less-volatile measure of employment conditions, rose to 308,000 last week from 298,500 the previous week, the Labor Department reported.
In financial markets, U.S. bond prices fell after a report from Philadelphia-area manufacturers showed the economy continues to expand at a steady pace.
The Labor Department also said Thursday that the total number of people on the unemployment-benefit rolls rose by 75,000, to 2.3 million, in the week ended Aug. 9. At the same time, 35 states or territories reported increased claims that week; 18 said claims fell.
