Posted on 04/26/2012 6:19:51 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
New applications for unemployment benefits stayed nearly unchanged from last week, showing that the labor market's recent improvement may be slowing.
Initial jobless claims decreased by 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 388,000 in the week ended April 21, the Labor Department said Thursday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires predicted that 376,000 new claims would be filed last week.
It was the third straight week the level topped 385,000 -- claims haven't stayed that consistently high since November.
The prior week's level of claims was revised up to 389,000 from a previously reported 386,000.
The four-week moving average of claims, which smooths out week-to-week volatility, increased by 6,250 to 381,750, the highest reading since the first week of the year.
The larger number of layoffs is consistent with other measures that suggest hiring is slowing after a strong start to the year. In March, U.S. employers added 120,000 nonfarm jobs, half of what they added in February.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Wednesday that unseasonably warm weather early in the year may have played a role in the fluctuating numbers.
"The weather issue just reflects how difficult it can be to make real-time assessments" on the state of the economy, he said, adding that it probably made the January and February job readings artificially strong and March artificially weak.
The government will release its April payroll report next week. Last month the unemployment rate was 8.2%, still high by historical standards.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
This can’t be!
Numb-Nuts has been focused like a laser on jobs, jobs, jobs.
This is really very disappointing, just as the jobless claims trend was going down, suddenly, it shot back up again the past two weeks...
hmmm, need to show things are getting better.
it went from 386k to 388k new unemployment claims
lets just revise the 386k to 389k, that way the new number of 388k will now be a decrease...
BRILLIANT!
How “unexpected”
RE: How “unexpected”
I was planning to use the word but you got ahead of me :)
Two weeks ago the number was 380k. Last week it “decreased 2,000” to 386k. This week it “decreased 1,000” to 388k. They keep reporting these numbers with straight faces.
That 388K will be revised up again next week. Wonder how many people will be dropped from the Participating Labor Force next week in order to keep the unemployment rate from rising?
under under a democrat administration is an increase actauuly a decrease..
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