U.S. initial jobless claims jump unexpectedly

NEW YORK (Forex News Now) – The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for unemployment benefits jumped unexpectedly last week, official data showed on Thursday in one of the day’s spotlight FX news events.

U.S. Labor Department data showed that the number of workers filing new claims for unemployment benefits last week rose to 500,000, up from an upwardly revised 488,000 during the previous week.

Global forex analysts had expected claims to drop to 478,000, two major financial news outlets reported.