U.S. jobless claims up and continued claims at record

The number of people remaining on the benefits roll after drawing an initial week of assistance increased by 114,000 to a 5.112 million in the week ended February 14, the most recent week for which data is available. The so-called continued claims topped every estimate in a Reuters poll of 15 economists, which had a consensus forecast of 5.00 million.

Initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits increased to a seasonally adjusted 667,000 in the week ended February 21 from a revised 631,000 the prior week, the Labor Department said. It was the highest reading since October 1982, when claims reached 695,000.

The year-long U.S. recession has savaged the labor market and sent the unemployment rate soaring, with some economists fearing it will pierce 9 percent in 2009 from 7.6 percent in January and mount further next year.

Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast 625,000 new claims versus a previously reported count of 627,000 the week before.

A Labor Department official said there were no special factors impacting the numbers.

The four-week average of new jobless claims, a better gauge of underlying labor trends because it irons out week-to-week volatility, increased to 639,000 from 620,000 the week before. This was also the highest reading since October 1982, when the four-week average was 641,750.

(Reporting by Alister Bull; Editing by Tom Hals)