U.S. Jobless Claims Rise More Than Expected To 219,000

(RTTNews) - A report released by the Labor Department showed a modest increase by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended February 15th.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims rose to 219,000, an increase of 5,000 from the previous week's revised level of 214,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 215,000 from the 213,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Meanwhile, the report said the less volatile four-week moving average edged down to 215,250, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's revised average of 216,250.

The Labor Department also said continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, climbed by 24,000 to 1.869 million in the week ended February 8th.

The four-week moving average of continuing claims still fell to 1,862,500, a decrease of 7,750 from the previous week's revised average of 1,870,250.