Commerce Department figures showed the trade deficit widened more than forecast in March as American demand for crude oil, computers, automobiles and televisions propelled imports to a record.
The gap grew 14 percent to $51.8 billion. The median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for an increase to $50 billion. A 5.2 percent jump in imports, the biggest in more than a year, swamped the 2.9 percent gain in exports, which also reached a record.
Four-Week Average
The Labor Department said the four-week moving average of claims, a less-volatile measure than the weekly figures, decreased to 379,000 last week from 384,250 the previous period.
The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits dropped to 3.23 million in the week ended April 28 from 3.29 million. The continuing claims figure does not include the number of Americans receiving extended benefits under federal programs.
Those who've used up their traditional benefits and are collecting emergency and extended payments declined by about 40,500 to 3.04 million.
The unemployment rate among people eligible for benefits, which tends to track the jobless rate, decreased to 2.5 percent in the week ended April 28, from 2.6 percent. Thirty-five states and territories reported a decrease in claims, while 18 reported an increase. State data are reported with a one-week lag.
Initial jobless claims reflect weekly firings and tend to fall as job growth -- measured by the monthly non-farm payrolls report -- accelerates.
April Employment
American employers added fewer workers than forecast in April and the jobless rate unexpectedly fell as people left the labor force, the Labor Department said on May 4. Payrolls climbed 115,000, the smallest gain in six months.