WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – The number of people who applied for U.S. unemployment benefits was unchanged at 276,000 in the first week of November, remaining near a 15-year low. Economists polled by the MarketWatch had expected claims to fall 268,000 in the period running from Nov. 1 to Nov. 7. The average of new claims over the past month, meanwhile, rose 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 267,750, the Labor Department said Thursday. The monthly average smooths out sharp fluctuations in the more volatile weekly report and is seen as a more accurate predictor of labor-market trends.
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