Applications for U.S. jobless benefits rose to a three-month high last week but remained within the same healthy range of the past three years. The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits rose by 22,000 to 242,000 for the week ending Feb. 22, the Labor Department said Thursday. Analysts projected that 220,000 new applications would be filed.
Weekly applications for jobless benefits are considered a proxy for layoffs. The four-week average, which evens out some of the week-to-week volatility, climbed by 8,500 to 224,000. The total number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits for the week of Feb. 15 fell by 5,000 to 1.86 million.
