First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose by much more than expected in the week ended May 4th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.
The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 231,000, an increase of 22,000 from the previous week's revised level of 209,000.
With the much bigger than expected increase, jobless claims reached their highest level since hitting 234,000 in week ended August 26th.
The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also crept up to 215,000, an increase of 4,750 from the previous week's revised average of 210,250.
Continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, also rose by 17,000 to 1.785 million in the week ended April 27th.
However, the four-week moving average of continuing claims dipped to 1,781,000, a decrease of 6,250 from the previous week's revised average of 1,787,250.
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