Applications for U.S.unemployment benefitsjumped last week from an almost three-month low, reflecting volatility that typically occurs around the year-end holidays.

Jobless claims surged by 68,000 to a two-month high of 368,000 in the period ended Dec. 7, exceeding the highest forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists, Labor Department data showed today in Washington. The 300,000 applications filed in the prior week, which included Thanksgiving, were the fewest since Sept. 7.

The data reflect seasonal adjustment volatility around the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, a Labor Department spokesman said as the figures were released. A report last week showed the unemployment rate fell to a five-year low and companies added more workers than forecast, pointing to further labor-market progress.

“I wouldn’t put too much stock in the ups and downs of initial jobless claims over the next several weeks because seasonal volatility is pretty high this time of year,” said Ryan Sweet, senior economist at Moody’s Analytics Inc. in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and the top-ranked forecaster of jobless claims in the past two years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. “Layoffs are low. Other jobs data suggest layoffs are not the problem, it’s the lack of hiring.”

The median forecast of 47 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for 320,000 claims. Estimates ranged from 300,000 to 351,000 after a previously reported 298,000 in the prior week.

The 68,000 increase in applications was the biggest since the week ended Nov. 10, 2012.