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With layoffs on the rise due to the coronavirus pandemic, claims for US unemployment insurance have surged, particularly for hotel and restaurant workers, the Labor Department reported on Thursday.

For the week ending March 14, initial jobless claims jumped 70,000 to 281,000, its highest level since September 2017, the report said. Economists expected a jump, but that was far higher than the consensus forecast.

The increase was "clearly attributable to impacts from the COVID-19 virus," the Labor Department said, noting that "many states reported increased layoffs in service related industries broadly and in the accommodation and food services industries specifically, as well as in the transportation and warehousing industry."