A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits climbed by much more than expected in the week ended November 11th.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims rose to 231,000, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week's revised level of 218,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 220,000 from the 217,000 originally reported for the previous week.
The report said the less volatile four-week moving average also climbed to 220,250, an increase of 7,750 from the previous week's revised average of 212,500.
