Weekly U.S. jobless claims jump 10,000 to 383,000 by Jeffry Bartash

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The number of Americans who filed requests for jobless benefits climbed by 10,000 last week to 383,000, the highest level in five weeks, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday. Claims from two weeks ago were revised up to 373,000 from 370,000. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had projected claims would fall to a seasonally adjusted 370,000 in the week ended May 26. The average of new claims over the past four weeks, meanwhile, rose by 3,750 to 374,500. Continuing claims decreased by 36,000 to a seasonally adjusted 3.24 million in the week ended May 19, the Labor Department said. Continuing claims are reported with a one-week lag. About 6.14 million people received some kind of state or federal benefit in the week ended May 12, down 30,753 from the prior week. Total claims are reported with a two-week lag.