First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly increased in the week ended December 7th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.
The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 242,000, an increase of 17,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 225,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to dip to 220,000 from the 224,000 originally reported for the previous week.
The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also rose to 224,250, an increase of 5,750 from the previous week’s revised average of 218,500.
A separate report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed producer prices in the U.S. increased by more than expected in the month of November.
The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand climbed by 0.4 percent in November after rising by an upwardly revised 0.3 percent in October.
Economists had expected producer prices to inch up by 0.2 percent, matching the uptick originally reported for the previous month.
The report also said the annual rate of producer price growth accelerated to 3.0 percent in November from an upwardly revised 2.6 percent in October.
The annual rate of producer price growth was expected to rise to 2.6 percent from the 2.4 percent originally reported for the previous month.
At 1 pm ET, the Treasury Department is scheduled to announce the results of this month’s auction of $22 billion worth of thirty-year bonds.