Jobless Claims Increase

In a troubling sign for the U.S. labor market, the number of workers filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly surged last week to wipe out most of the recent declines.

The Labor Department said in its weekly report Thursday that initial claims for jobless benefits rose by 25,000 to 471,000 in the week ended May 15. Economists who were surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had predicted claims would fall by 4,000.

The previous week's level was revised upward as well, to 446,000 from 444,000.

The Labor Department's report on Thursday showed that the four-week moving average, which aims to smooth volatility in the data to help paint a better picture of the underlying trend, increased for the week ended May 15. The four-week moving average went up by 3,000 to 453,500 from the previous week's unrevised average of 450,500.

Read Full Article from Wall Street Journal

- Posted: 2010-05-20 08:53:34

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