Surprising rise in jobless claims
But filings still at level that suggests solid pace of employment growth.
March 2, 2006: 9:06 AM EST
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits rose a larger-than-expected 15,000 last week, but the figure was skewed by two holidays last month, a government report showed Thursday.
Initial filings for state unemployment insurance aid rose to 294,000 in the week ended Feb. 25 from an upwardly revised 279,000 for the previous week, the Labor Department said.
A 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.
Jobless 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.
Analysts 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 Feb. 18 week.
A 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.
In 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.
Continued claims were down 2,000 to 2.49 million in the week ended Feb. 18, the latest period for which figures are available. The state of Michigan said layoffs declined 10,195, mainly in the auto industry.