Weekly Jobless Claims Surge Higher

The one caveat we would issue is that the reports around Easter each and every year can create some confusion and volatility in the weekly jobs reports. That being said, the Labor Department did specifically say in its release that there were no special factors impacting this week’s initial claims.

Dow Jones (WSJ) was calling for a reading of 315,000 in the past week. Bloomberg was looking for a slightly lower reading of about 313,000 in weekly claims.

Another boost was seen in the four week average, which was up by 4,750 to 316,750.

Continuing jobless claims, measured with a one-week lag, continued their decline with a drop of 61,000 to 2.68 million. This continues to be at multiyear lows, and it was listed as the lowest level for insured unemployment since December 8, 2007, when it was 2,672,000.