Initial Jobless Claims Jump by 20,000, Labor Dept. Says

he number of U.S. workers filing for unemployment benefits for the first time rose by 20,000 in the week ended March 26, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

The higher-than-expected gain pushed initial jobless claims to 350,000, the highest level since Jan. 8, Labor said.

A department spokesman said Labor had expected a decline of 17,000 in unadjusted claims, but the decline was only 380, which raised the overall level, Bloomberg reported.

he number of continuing jobless claims fell to 2.61 million people in the week ended March 19, the lowest level since April 2001, from 2.67 million the previous week. The four-week average for continuing claims dropped to 2.656 million from 2.671 million.