New Weekly Jobless Claims Up 7,000

The number of newly laid-off workers filing claims for jobless benefits rose by 7,000 last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

“We’re drifting along aimlessly,” said economist Robert G. Dederick of the Northern Trust Co. in Chicago. “It’s consistent with employment growth, but growth of a subdued nature.” First-time claims for unemployment insurance rose to 344,000 last week, from a revised 337,000 a week earlier, the Labor Department said.

Much of the increase was attributed to a surge in claims in California at the beginning of a new benefit computing period, a Labor Department spokesman said.

Claimants often postpone filing when they anticipate benefits are about to go up.

The four-week moving average of claims, which analysts prefer to track because it more accurately reflects the labor situation, has also been drifting in a narrow range.

It dipped to 342,250 during the period ended last week, down from 345,250 a week earlier.