The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits was unchanged last week, government data on Thursday showed, but a key jobs gauge that irons out volatility rose to the highest reading since 2005.
Initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits were a seasonally adjusted 384,000 in the week ended June 21, matching the revised level in the prior week, the Labor Department said.
Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast 380,000 new claims versus a previously reported count of 381,000 the week before.
The four-week average of new jobless claims, a better gauge of underlying labor trends because it irons out week-to-week volatility, rose to 378,250 from 376,000 the week before, the highest reading since October 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.