WASHINGTON: New claims for US unemployment benefits rose for the second consecutive week after falling to a four-year low, official data showed Thursday in a report signaling a rise in layoffs.
The Labor Department reported 380,000 initial jobless claims were filed in the week ended April 7, an increase of 13,000, or 3.5 percent, from the prior week's upwardly revised estimate.
The number for last week was the highest since January, while most analysts had expected it to fall, to 355,000 claims.
The four-week moving average also rose, by 4,250 claims to 368,500.
The overall trend in claims, however, has been in retreat as conditions slowly improve in the troubled job market.
US unemployment dropped unexpectedly, to 8.2 percent in March, the lowest rate in more than three years, from 8.3 percent in February the government reported last week.
But the economy created only 120,000 jobs in March, much lower than the 200,000 forecast by economists.
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