Initial jobless claims in the U.S. rose by more than expected in the week ended October 15th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims climbed to 260,000, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week's revised level of 247,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 250,000 from the 246,000 originally reported for the previous month.
The revised figure for the previous week is up from 246,000 in the week ended October 1st, which represents the lowest number of claims since November of 1973.
The report said the four-week moving average also edged up to 251,750, an increase of 2,250 from the previous week's revised average.
With the increase, the less volatile four-week moving average climbed off its lowest level in nearly forty-three years.
Continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, also rose by 7,000 to 2.057 million in the week ended October 8th.
Meanwhile, the four-week moving average of continuing claims fell to a sixteen-year low of 2,058,250, a decrease of 12,750 from the previous week's revised average of 2,071,000.
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April 24, 2026 15:15 ET Economics news flow was relatively light this week even as the conflict in the Middle East continued, raising concerns for policymakers. In the U.S., spending data, initial jobless claims and pending home sales were the highlights. Business confidence in the biggest euro area economy was in focus in Europe. Inflation data from Japan gained attention in Asia.