The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment insurance last week was higher than economists expected, indicating continued weakness in the nation's economy.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday that initial filings for state jobless benefits reached 481,000 for the week ended Nov. 1.
While that was down 4,000 from the revised 485,000 reported the week before, it was above the 476,000 claims expected by economists surveyed by Briefing.com. The prior week was revised up by 1,000 to 479,000.
The report shows that more Americans are continuing to collect unemployment benefits in the face of a weak job market. The number increased by 122,000 to 3.84 million, for the week ended Oct .18, the most current data available. That number stood at 2.59 million a year ago.
The four-week moving average of unemployment claims, used to smooth fluctuations in the data, remained unchanged at 477,000 from the previous week. A reading above 400,000 has been present during the past two recessions.