First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits came in well above economist estimates in the week ended February 13th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday, with claims rising from a significantly upwardly revised level.
The report said initial jobless claims edged up to 861,000, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week's revised level of 848,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to dip to 765,000 from the 793,000 originally reported for the previous week.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average dipped to 833,250, a decrease of 3,500 from the previous week's revised average of 836,750.
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