Mubasher: The number of unemployed individuals applying for benefits hit almost five-month peak last week, official weekly report showed on Thursday.

US unemployment claims, which trace layoffs, shot up by 14,000 week-on-week to 225,000 claims in the week ended 9 November, compared with the unrevised total of 211,000 the week before, the US Department of Labor said.

This marked the highest level since late last June, according to MarketWatch.

The more stable 4-week average of claims, which usually gives a more accurate picture of the labour market conditions than the volatile weekly figure, was 217,000, rising by 1,750 from the unrevised average of 215,250, from the preceding week.

The preliminary seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate for the week ended 2 November came in at 1.2%, unchanged from the previous week’s unrevised rate.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the jobless individuals already collecting benefits in the US fell by 10,000 to 1.683 million during the seven days to 2 November, compared to the preceding week’s upwardly revised 1.693 million.

The preliminary unadjusted number of actual initial claims submitted under state programmes totalled 236,724 in the week to 9 November, jumping by 31,099 claims or 15.1% from the claims filed last week.

This came higher than 235,981 initial claims registered the same week last year.

By 1:56 pm GMT, the US dollar index, which gauges the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, stood at 98.3700.