The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell less than expected last week as California continued to process a backlog of applications caused by computer problems.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 350,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Claims for the prior week were revised to show 4,000 more applications filed than previously reported.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected first-time applications to fall to 340,000 last week.
A Labor Department analyst said claims from the backlog in California were still working their way through the system.
Source: Reuters
