U.S. weekly jobless claims hit 228,000, far above estimates

The number of new applications for unemployment insurance in the United States rose more than expected last week in the latest sign of a slowdown in the US labor market, while the previous reading was revised much higher after a broad change in the estimate models used by the Labor Department. .

According to Labor Department data Thursday, seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims for the week ending April 1 came in at 228,000. The index was down from 246,000 the week before — a reading that was revised upward from the initial level of 198,000. Economists had seen the weekly number at 200. one thousand.

The four-week moving average, which aims to account for volatility in the weekly numbers, was 237,750, down significantly from the upwardly revised number of 242,000.