The number of new weekly jobless claims rose by 68,000 in the week that ended Dec. 7 to 368,000, far above the consensus forecast of 335,000, according to US Labor Department data.
A four-week average of initial claims for regular state unemployment-insurance benefits rose 6,000 to 328,750.
Continuing claims rose 40,000 to 2.79 million in the week that ended Nov. 30. Continuing claims reflect the number of people already receiving benefits.