WASHINGTON — More Americans than forecast filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, a sign the labor market is improving in fits and starts.
Jobless claims increased by 14,000 to 348,000 in the week ended Feb. 22, exceeding all forecasts in a Bloomberg survey, from 334,000 in the prior period, a Labor Department report showed Thursday in Washington.
A Labor Department spokesman said no states were estimated and there was nothing unusual in the data.
Cold temperatures and winter storms have damped progress in the housing and labor market, indicating growth slowed in the first two months of the year. The median forecast of 53 economists surveyed by Bloomberg projected 335,000. Estimates ranged from 325,000 to 345,000.
The prior week’s claims were revised down to 334,000 from an initial reading of 336,000.
