Analysts Forecast Decrease To 336,000; Reality: Surge -- Climbed by 10,000 To Almost 380,000 -- Back To Where We Were; One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Bloomberg is reporting:

Applications for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week to an almost nine-month high, showing fluctuation in the filings that typically occurs around the year-end holidays.

Jobless claims climbed by 10,000 to 379,000 in the period ended Dec. 14, the most since the end of March, Labor Department data showed today in Washington. The median forecast of 48 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a decrease to 336,000. It’s best to focus on the four-week average during the holiday season to determine the underlying trend, a government spokesman said as the figures were released. 

And then this revelation: analysts don't put much stock in year-end numbers:

“Claims at this time of year are very volatile, so we don’t want to put too much stock in each week’s fluctuations,” said Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody’s Analytics Inc. in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and the best claims forecaster over the past two years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. “Layoffs are low, which is very encouraging.”