(RTTNews) - A day ahead of the release of the more closely watched monthly jobs report, the Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose by more than expected in the week ended March 30th.
The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 221,000, an increase of 9,000 from the previous week's revised level of 212,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 214,000 from the 210,000 originally reported for the previous week.
The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also crept up to 214,250, an increase of 2,750 from the previous week's revised average of 211,500.
