WASHINGTON: US claims for unemployment increased suddenly in mid-November, reversing most of the decline recorded the week before but remaining at a relatively low level, the Labor Department said Wednesday.
New claims for jobless benefits in the week ending November 19 rose 18,000 to 251,000, the strongest weekly gain since May. The week before, claims had fallen by 21,000.
The result marked 90 consecutive weeks of results below 300,000, the longest such streak since 1970.
An analyst consensus forecast saw claims reaching 243,000. Initial claims for unemployment insurance can be used as a measure of the prevalence of layoffs.
The four-week moving average fell 2,000 to 251,000.
US monetary policymakers have been divided in 2016 over the strength of labor markets and the danger of inflation, with some US Federal Reserve members pointing to slack in jobs markets despite steady job creation as an argument against an immediate interest rate hike.
However, most observers and market players expect the Fed to raise rates next month at its final policy meeting of the year.
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