--US new jobless claims -20,000 at 362,000 in latest week
--US new jobless claims 4-week average -3,000 at 374,750
--US jobless claiming benefits +69,000 to 2.532 million
--US jobless benefits 4-week average +20,500 to 2,465,750

By BridgeNews
Washington, March 29 (BridgeNews) - New claims for U.S. state unemployment insurance benefits fell 20,000 to 362,000 during the week ended Saturday, the U.S. Labor Department said, well below the 380,000 median estimate of analysts surveyed by BridgeNews. The 4-week moving average fell 3,000 to 374,750.
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The estimates of analysts surveyed by BridgeNews put initial jobless claims for the latest week in a range of 347,000 to 385,000.
For the week ended March 17, initial claims rose 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 382,000, originally reported as 379,000, Labor said. For the same week, the 4-week moving average for new claims was 377,750, originally 377,000 per week.
In new data for the week ended March 17, 2.532 million people were reported claiming unemployment benefits under regular state programs, up 69,000 from the previous week's revised 2.463 million, Labor said. The 4-week moving average for the week for continuing claims rose 20,500 to 2,465,750.
The seasonally adjusted rate of insured unemployment during the week ended March 17 rose to 2.0 from the previous week's 1.9%. The ratio represents people claiming benefits as a percentage of the workforce potentially eligible for these benefits.
Data on continuing claims and the insured unemployment rate are reported with a one-week delay. End
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