Sept. 23 (UPI) -- About 350,000 workers in the United States have filed new unemployment claims, the Labor Department said in its weekly report Thursday, a level more than most analysts expected.
The report said there were 351,000 new filings last week, an increase of 16,000 from the previous week.
While the total was still relatively low for the COVID-19 era, it was higher than most economists projected. Most expected about 320,000 new jobless claims.
Thursday's report also revised up the previous week's claims slightly, by 3,000 filings.
The department said there were about 2.84 million continuing claims, which lag initial claims by a week.
The largest increases in jobless claims were reported in Louisiana, Washington, D.C., and Arizona. The greatest decreases were reported in Illinois, California and Ohio.
