Labor: Weekly Jobless Claims Jump More than Expected

The number of Americans filing claims for first-time unemployment benefits rose last week to 282,000 from a downwardly revised 270,000 the week prior. Wall Street expected claims to increase, but only to 275,000 from an initially reported 271,000.

The Labor Department said there were no special factors impacting the the week ended Aug. 29. The four-week moving average of claims–which is widely considered a better gauge as it irons out week-to-week volatility–increased by 3,250 to 275,500 last week.

On Wednesday, payroll processor ADP released the closely-watched National Employment Report, which revealed U.S. private sector job creation in August cooled at 190,000, missing economists’ expectations. Economists surveyed by Reuters expected the report by the payrolls processor to show a gain of 201,000 jobs. The report was released ahead of the U.S. Labor Department’s non-farm payrolls report on Friday, which includes both public and private-sector employment. Economists are forecasting a net increase of 220,000 jobs, roughly in line with gains so far this year. The unemployment rate is expected to tick one-tenth of a percentage point lower to 5.2%.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.7 percent for the week ending August 22, unchanged from the previous week’s unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending August 22 was 2,257,000, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised down by 3,000 from 2,269,000 to 2,266,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,264,250, a decrease of 250 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised down by 750 from 2,265,250 to 2,264,500.