India, May 29 -- First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose by more than expected in the week ended May 24th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.
The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 240,000, an increase of 14,000 from the previous week's revised level of 226,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 230,000 from the 227,000 originally reported for the previous week.
"The latest jobless claims data hint at some loosening in labor market conditions, but we won't read too much into one week of data," said Nancy Vanden Houten, Lead U.S. Economist at Oxford Economics.
She added, "Initial claims rose to their highest level in four weeks in the week ended May 24, but on a ...