U.S. jobless claims rise 24,000 to 399,000

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch)
The number of Americans who filed requests for jobless benefits rose by 24,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 399,000, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday
Claims from two weeks ago were revised up to 375,000 from 372,000
Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had projected claims would rise to 380,000 in the week ended Jan. 7
The average of new claims over the past four weeks, meanwhile, increased by 7,750 to 381,750. Meanwhile, the Labor Department said continuing claims rose by 19,000 to a seasonally adjusted 3.63 million in the week ended Dec. 31
Continuing claims are reported with a one-week lag
About 7.33 million people received some kind of state or federal benefit in the week ended Dec. 24, up 111,010 from the prior week
Total claims are reported with a two-week lag