First Time Jobless Claims Surge
Claims by first time filers for unemployment insurance surged 43,000 to 364,000 last week.
It was the largest one-week gain in nearly three years and far surpassed Wall Street expectations for a rise to 331,000 from the originally reported 326,000 in the prior week.
A Labor Department analyst said the rise was partly due to difficulties with seasonal adjustments for the holiday, and economists said the data did not alter their outlook for healthy hiring in December.
