Unemployment claims in the United States rose by three thousand to 229k jobs during the week ending March 17, against forecast of 225 thousand, as demand continued to rise to 1828k against expectations at 1870k.
The previous reading was revised from 1879k to 1885 thousand. Average in the last four weeks rose from 221.50 thousand to 223.75 thousand. Unemployment benefits below 300,000 levels reflect the strength of the labor market, with 159 consecutive weeks, which have not reached since 1970.
