Thursday Is New Jobless Day

Definitely at sustained higher levels.

The number of US workers filing initial claims for unemployment aid climbed 22,000 last week, while the overall number on the benefit rolls hit a 3-1/2 year high a week earlier, the government said Thursday.

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The Labor Department said 378,000 initial claims for jobless benefits were filed in the week ended March 15, up from 356,000 in the prior week. Economists had expected a rise to just 360,000.

The increase pushed a four-week moving average of claims, which gives a better underlying signal on the state of the labor market, to 365,250, the highest level since October 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.