Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Initial jobless claims climbed more than expected.
Claims, which count the number of people who applied for unemployment insurance for the first time in the past week, rose by 10,000 to 244,000 from the prior unrevised reading of 234,000.
Economists forecast claims would rise to 240,000.
The four-week moving average clocked in at 243,000, a decrease of 4,250 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 247,250
Initial jobless claims are used as a real-time proxy for the pace of layoffs and the overall health of the labor market since people usually file for benefits soon after they lose their jobs.