Unemployment Claims Jump 12,000

According to the latest report by the U.S. Department of Labor, the initial jobless claims moved upwards by 12,000 from a revised 453,000 claims for the week before last. It’s a surprise as the last two weeks saw small drops, and economists expected a flat or small downward change, according to the Associated Press.

However, the four-week moving average, a less volatile measure of the unemployment levels, fell by 3,250 to 463,250.