Finance: Initial jobless claims unexpectedly jump

The latest read on initial jobless claims.

Initial jobless claims unexpectedly jumped.

Claims, which count the number of people who applied for unemployment insurance for the first time, rose to 248,000.

Economists forecast claims would dip to 243,000 from the prior week's unrevised 244,000.

Initial jobless claims are used as a real-time proxy for the pace of layoffs since people usually file for benefits soon after they lose their jobs.

The four-week moving average was 243,000, an increase of 750 from the prior week's unrevised average of 242,250

The latest read on initial jobless claims. Read Full Story