- In other economic news, the number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits rose 9,000 last week and so-called continued claims notched a fresh record as a year-long recession continued to slam the labor market, data on Thursday showed. The Labor Department said initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits increased to a seasonally adjusted 654,000 in the week ended March 7 from a revised 645,000 the week before.
Continuing claims hit record 5.32 million.