US jobless claims jump to 211,000, led by New York, California, shows data

Applications for US unemployment benefits last week rose to the highest since December, driven by spikes in California and New York and suggesting some softening in what’s still a tight labor market.
 

Initial unemployment claims increased by 21,000 to 211,000 in the week ended March 4, Labor Department data showed Thursday. The figure surpassed all economists’ forecasts. The median estimate was for 195,000 applications. 

Continuing claims, which include people who have received unemployment benefits for a week or more and are a good indicator of how hard it is for people to find work after losing their job, surged 69,000