In the week ending May 13, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 367,000, an increase of 42,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 325,000. The 4-week moving average was 333,250, an increase of 15,750 from the previous week's revised average of 317,500.

The unexpected surge in new claims was due to a partial government shutdown in Puerto Rico which added 46,000 unadjusted claims, a government report showed on Thursday.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending May 6 was 2,389,000, an increase of 8,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 2,381,000.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending April 22 were in Alaska (4.6 percent), Puerto Rico (4.1), Michigan (3.4), Pennsylvania (2.9), and New Jersey (2.7). 

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending April 29 were in Ohio (+7,174), New York (+3,729), and Minnesota (+1,059), while the largest decreases were in Massachusetts (-4,129), New Jersey (-3,623), and Connecticut (-2,959). .