Washington, DC, February 16, 2006--First-time applications for U.S. unemployment benefits rose by 19,000 to 297,000 in the week ending Feb. 11, the Labor Department said Thursday.
The four-week average of seasonally adjusted new claims rose by 6,250 to 283,000.
The four-week average is considered a better gauge of new claims because it smoothes out one-time disturbances, such as holidays, intense weather and strikes.
Economists were expecting an increase in new claims to about 285,000 in the most recent week.
Meanwhile, the number of people receiving unemployment checks fell by 39,000 to 2.511 million in the week ending Feb. 4. The four-week average of continuing claims fell by about 4,250 to 2.53 million, the lowest since March 2001.
