Jobless claims rose 10% last week

Initial jobless claims rose nearly 10% last week, well above most analyst estimates and to the highest level since August. The Labor Department said the seasonally adjusted figure of claims for the week ended April 30 increased by 43,000 to 474,000 from 431,000 a week prior, which was revised upward 2,000. The rise is somewhat attributable to layoffs in the auto industry and anomalies in the New York labor market caused by spring break, according to MarketWatch. Analysts surveyed by Econoday expected 410,000 new jobless claims last week with a range of estimates between 400,000 and 450,000. A Briefing.com survey projected new claims of 400,000 for last week. The four-week moving average, which is considered a less volatile indicator than weekly claims, shot up by 22,250 to 431,250 from a slightly revised average of 409,000 the prior week. The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate remained inched up to 3% from 2.9% for the week ended April 23, according to the Labor Department. The total number of people receiving some sort of federal unemployment benefits for the week ended April 16 fell to about 8.04 million from nearly 8.2 million the prior week. Write to Jason Philyaw.