Jobless claims unexpectedly rise to 770,000

The number of Americans filing new jobless claims has unexpectedly ticked up, coming in higher than economists projected.

The Labor Department said Thursday that 770,000 Americans filed initial jobless claims last week. That was up 45,000 claims from the level of the previous week, which was initially reported to be 712,000 but was revised up to 725,000.

It was also about 70,000 claims higher than expected, as economists thought claims would decline this week to about 700,000, according to CNBC. The number of new claims still remain higher than the record prior to the pandemic, which was 695,000. The number of claims is also still higher than any week during the Great Recession.

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Thursday's unexpected rise in claims comes as numerous states move to re-open, but as experts express concern over an uptick in new cases in 15 states, ABC News reports.

The most recent U.S. jobs report had surpassed expectations earlier this month, showing 379,000 jobs were added in February. But Glassdoor Senior Economist Daniel Zhao wrote that while "the engine of economic recovery is restarting as the pandemic's winter wave recedes," there "is still a long way to go."