U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Rise To 372,000

RTT News ^ | 23 Aug 12 | Rtt Staff Writer

[xzins]

E-MAIL SHARE FONT-SIZE 8/23/2012 8:37 AM ET (RTTNews) - First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly showed a modest increase in the week ended August 18th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.

The report showed that initial jobless claims edged up to 372,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 368,000. The modest increase came as a surprise to economists, who had expected jobless claims to slip to 365,000 from the 366,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Additionally, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average crept up to 368,000 from the previous week's revised average of 364,250.

by RTT Staff Writer

[nicmarlo]

“Unexpectedly”???

Unexpected by whom?

[Random_User_250]

Nothing unexpected about any of it — not the increase in jobless claims, or the use of “unexpectedly” in the headline.

Of course, if Romney wins in November, then every bit of bad economic news will be cited as proof that this is the worst economic crisis of all time, and all the blame for it must be put on Bush and Romney — as if the Obama presidency never existed.