The number of Americans filing first time claims for unemployment benefits rose last week, while the total jobless rolls decreased, the government said Thursday.
The Labor Department says initial claims increased to a seasonally adjusted 558,000, from 554,000 the previous week. Analysts expected new claims to drop to 545,000, according to Thomson Reuters.
The number of people remaining on the benefit rolls, meanwhile, fell to 6.2 million from 6.34 million the previous week. Analysts had expected a smaller decline. The continuing claims data lags initial claims by one week.
The four-week average of initial claims, which smooths out fluctuations, rose by 8,500 to 565,000. That reverses six straight weeks of decline.
Initial claims reflect the pace of layoffs by employers. The Labor Department last week said companies cut 247,000 jobs in July, a large amount but still the smallest number in almost a year.
The government said last week that 247,000 jobs were lost in July, which was the smallest monthly tally in nearly a year. The unemployment rate fell last month to 9.4% from 9.5% in June. It was the first decline in that closely watched reading since April 2008.
Among the states, Alabama had the largest increase in claims, with 721. The next largest increases were in Washington, Nebraska, Kentucky and Delaware. The state data lag initial claims by one week.
California reported the largest drop in claims, of 7,258, which it attributed to fewer layoffs in the service industry. Michigan, Tennessee, Florida and Georgia had the next largest decreases.
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Tags: Jobless Claims
