US initial jobless claims ahead of expectations at 211,000

(Sharecast News) - Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at an accelerated pace in the week ended 9 May, according to the Labor Department, with initial claims jumping by 12,000 to 211,000 - above market expectations of 205,000.

Continuing jobless claims also increased, rising by 24,000 to 1.78m, slightly below expectations of 1.79m, while the four-week moving average, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, increased by 750 to 203,750.

Initial claims filed by federal employees, which have been under close scrutiny as a reult of multuple government shutdowns, fell by 46 to 392.

Elsewhere, the advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2% for the week ended 2 May, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the previous week's downwardly revised rate.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com