Jobless claims rise to 325,000 in latest week; durable goods orders up 0.6% in December.

Fonte: cnnfn

Jobless claims up, but less than thought 

Unemployment benefit applications rose 7,000 to 325,000, well below the 334,000 expected.
January 27, 2005: 8:38 AM EST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing first-time claims for jobless benefits rose 7,000 last week, a smaller gain than was expected by Wall Street, a government report showed Thursday.

Initial jobless claims, a rough guide to the pace of layoffs, rose to 325,000 in the week ended Jan. 22 from a revised 318,000 in the previous week, the Labor Department said.

Wall Street economists had forecast a rise to 330,000 from the originally reported 319,000 in the week ended Jan. 15.



A Labor Department analyst said there were no special factors behind the rise in new claims.

The closely watched four-week moving average, which smoothes volatility in weekly data, rose to 341,750 from 340,750 in the prior week.

The number of people who remained on the benefit rolls after claiming an initial week of aid rose 142,000 to 2.84 million in the week ended Jan. 15, the latest week for which figures were available. The rise in so-called continued claims was the largest one-week rise since a 158,000 increase in mid-July.