The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose 20,000 last week, the government said on Thursday in a report that continued to be somewhat inflated by hurricane-related claims.
First-time claims for state unemployment insurance aid rose to 350,000 in the week ended Oct. 23 from an upwardly revised 330,000 in the prior week, the Labor Department said.
“The claims report shows that we are still not growing jobs like we should, given the (economic) recovery that we are in,” said Brian Taylor of Manufacturers and Traders Bank in Buffalo, New York.
The rise in claims was larger than Wall Street economists’ expectations for a rise to 338,000 from the prior week’s original measure of 329,000.
The price of U.S. Treasury bonds prices showed little reaction to report, with the benchmark 10-year note down 3/32 in price to yield 4.199 percent.
A department analyst noted there were still some hurricane-related claims embedded in the data, though the impact was lessening, but noted no specific reason for the weekly increase. Four hurricanes struck Florida and other southern states in August and September, throwing many people out of work.
Despite the increase in new claims, the four-week moving average fell for the second straight week to its lowest since mid-September, slipping to 343,250 from 348,750 in the prior period. Economists view the moving average as a more accurate measure of employment trends because it smooths out weekly volatility.
“The moving average for claims is consistent with an economy that has slowed a bit from what we saw in the previous three quarters,” said David Berson, chief economist for Fannie Mae.
Total benefit rolls rose by 38,000 to reach 2.82 million in the week ended Oct. 16, the latest period for which those figures are available.
A more comprehensive snapshot of the economy is likely to emerge with the Labor Department’s Nov. 5 release of the October employment report, which is expected to show a rise by 150,000 in payroll jobs from 96,000 last month.