Filings for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly held at a two-month high last week, possibly reflecting the late timing of this year’s Easter holiday and spring vacations.
Figures released Thursday by the U.S. Labor Department showed jobless claims were unchanged at 230,000 in the week ended April 27, compared with economist estimates for a decline to 215,000. The four-week average, a less-volatile measure, increased to 212,500, the highest since late March.
The data follow the biggest increase in American jobless claims since late 2017 in the prior week. Some economists had attributed the jump in part to the Easter holiday -- which fell this year on April 21 -- and a supermarket chain strike in New England.
Thursday’s report appeared to back up at least some of that theory. The department cited layoffs in the "educational service" industry in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Jersey, as well as in retail in Massachusetts, in the week ended April 20. New York and New Jersey had the biggest increases in unadjusted claims for the week ended April 27.
Payrolls data Friday are forecast to show April jobs growth just above the 180,000 average over the past three months, after a separate measure of private employment topped expectations on Wednesday.
