Initial jobless claims increased 35,000 to 380,000 for the week ended April 26 -- substantially above the consensus estimate, the U.S. Labor Department announced Thursday. Claims for the previous week were revised down 30,000 to 345,000.
Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News had expected this week's initial jobless claims to total 360,000.
Also, the 4-week moving average increased 750 to 370,250. Economists view the 4-week average as a better indicator of unemployment conditions, as it smooths-out anomalies for strikes, holidays, or other idiosyncratic events.
Economist Peter Dawson said this week's job report reflects "weakening conditions on the job front. The job picture is worsening."
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending April 5 were in Connecticut, +2,886, Texas, +1,937, Rode Islands, +1,779, Vermont, +336, and South Carolina, +302. The largest decreases were in Michigan, -8,102, California, -5,130, North Carolina, -4,704, Florida, -3,278, and Pennsylvania, -2,644.
Meanwhile, the number of continuing claims increased by 74,000 to 3.019 million from a revised 2.945 million for the week ended April 19, the latest period for which figures were available.
Economic Analysis: A poor weekly jobless report. Weekly claims were well above the consensus estimate, and the 4-week moving average increased. Further, the continuing claims total is now over 3 million -- an indication of a softening job market. That statistic, combined with a higher-trending 4-week average, indicates that labor market conditions are not improving -- a major negative for the U.S. economy.
U.S. weekly jobless claims rise as job picture worsens
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