Initial claims for state unemployment benefits in the US rose 18,000 to a seasonally adjusted 408,000 for the week that ended April 21, their highest level in five years, the Labor Department reported today.
Wall Street analysts had expected 387,000 initial claims in the week.
A Labor Department official attributed much of the increase to New York state, where hourly employees in the school system were able to apply for jobless benefits during the spring break vacation.
The four-week moving average for initial jobless claims rose to 10,750 to 394,500, the highest level since the October 1992.
