There was an unexpected increase in initial jobless claims in the US last week, including a surge in California, a sign of volatile weekly data, while the labour market continues to recover across the board.
First-time jobless claims rose to 351000 in the week ended Sept. 18, while economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected the median to fall to 320000, according to data released by the Labor Department on Thursday.
The number of continuing jobless claims rose to 2.8 million in the week ended September 11.
The rise in jobless claims reflects the volatility of the weekly data. The figure has generally declined during the economic recovery.
Looking ahead, economic growth is expected to slow in the third quarter as stimulus spending falls. The end of federal supplementary unemployment benefits has not led to an increase in job applications, according to employers in various industries.
Initial jobless claims rose by 24221 in California and 12879 in Virginia.