WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits rose a larger-than-expected 15,000 last week, the government said on Thursday in a report skewed by two holidays last month.þþInitial filings for state unemployment insurance aid rose to 294,000 in the week ended February 25 from an upwardly revised 279,000 for the previous week, the Labor Department said.þþA department analyst said the rise in new claims was due in part to a failure of the seasonal adjustment process to anticipate two holidays not celebrated nationwide -- Abraham Lincoln's birthday and Presidents' Day.þþJobless claims are at a level economists see as consistent with a solid pace of employment growth and extended their run under 300,000 for the seventh straight week, the longest stretch in more than five years.þþAnalysts on Wall Street had expected claims, which provide a rough guide to the pace of layoffs, to rise to 285,000 from the 278,000 initially reported for the February 18 week.þþA four-week moving average of claims, which smooths weekly volatility to provide a better sense of underlying job-market trends, also rose, climbing to 287,250 from 282,000 in the prior week.þþIn another upbeat sign for the labor market, the total number of unemployed still on the benefit rolls after drawing an initial week of aid fell to the lowest level since February 2001.þþContinued claims were down 2,000 to 2.49 million in the week ended February 18, the latest period for which figures are available. The state of Michigan said layoffs declined 10,195, mainly in the auto industry.þþ
Source: NY Times
