India, May 1 -- A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose by much more than expected in the week ended April 26th.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims climbed to 241,000, an increase of 18,000 from the previous week's revised level of 223,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 224,000 from the 222,000 originally reported for the previous week.
With the bigger than expected increase, jobless claims reached their highest level since hitting 243,000 in the week ended February 22nd.
"The jump in claims is less worrisome than it might be otherwise since the increase was narrowly based, with New York accounting for most of the rise in clai...