Bloomberg (05/17/12) Shobhana Chandra
The number of Americans who filed requests for jobless benefits was unchanged last week at 370,000, the U.S. Department of Labor Department reported today. The median forecast of 48 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for a drop in claims to 365,000. Claims from two weeks ago were revised up to 370,000 from an initial reading of 367,000. The average of new claims over the past four weeks, meanwhile, fell by 4,750 to 375,000. Continuing claims increased by 18,000 to a seasonally adjusted 3.27 million in the week ended May 5.