Goldman Sachs expects U.S. initial jobless claims to rise to 235,000

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analyzed state-level data during the federal government shutdown and estimated that the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits increased last week. Goldman Sachs economists led by Jan Hatzius said in a research note that initial jobless claims rose to 235,000 in the week ending October 4. The bank estimated the number in the previous week to be around 224,000. Goldman Sachs used seasonal factors released in advance by the U.S. Department of Labor in its calculations to adjust the available raw state-level data. Due to the federal government shutdown, the Department of Labor did not release its weekly report on Thursday, but provided downloadable data for most states. Economists also found that the estimated number of continuing unemployment claims rose slightly to 1.92 million in the week ending September 27, from 1.91 million the previous week. Goldman Sachs economists estimated initial claims in Hawaii and Massachusetts, assuming those applications were consistent with the latest released figures. (Jinshi)