First-time claims for unemployment benefits rose to 298,000 for the week ending Dec. 27, the Department of Labor reported Wednesday.
Jobless claims were up by 17,000 from the week before, and above economists’ expectations.
The four-week moving average of claims for benefits also ticked up by 250 to 290,750.
Jobless claims are up from 14-year lows in recent weeks. That increase, however, is likely influenced by holiday job turnover that it is difficult for the Labor Department to adjust for.
“Ignore that noise in initial claims, focus on the 13-week moving average and have a very good New Year,” tweeted McGladrey chief economist Joseph Brusuelas in response to Wednesday’s report.
There were 2,540,575 people altogether receiving unemployment benefits in the week ending Dec. 13, an increase of 126,960.
There were 4,470,098 workers receiving benefits at the same time last year. The precipitous drop in recipients is due both to the falling unemployment rate over the course of the year and the expiration of unemployment benefits for those out of work for 27 weeks or longer in late December.
Net job creation has accelerated over the course of 2014. Job growth has averaged 241,000 a month, up from 194,000 in 2013, in the best year for job gains since 1999.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported strong employment growth in November, with 321,000 workers added to payrolls and the unemployment rate steady at 5.8 percent.
The BLS will release its employment situation summary for December on Jan. 9.
