US Initial Jobless Claims Rose Last Week, State Data Suggest (1)

Applications for US unemployment benefits rose last week, according to analyses of unadjusted state-level filings released during the federal government shutdown.

Initial claims increased to about 227,000 in the week ended Oct. 18 from a revised 220,000 in the prior week, according to a Bloomberg News analysis of the figures. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. economists also estimated 227,000 applications for last week.

The Labor Department hasn’t issued its weekly report since Sept. 25 because of the government shutdown, but it did make downloadable data available for most states. Bloomberg News adjusted those raw numbers using pre-released weekly seasonal factorsfrom ...