Jan 15, 2009 10:38 am US/Eastern
Another Unexpected Jump For Unemployment Claims
WASHINGTON (AP) ―
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Amanda Hornyak, who's been out of work for six months, looks for job on a computer at Opportunity Links, the employment training center for Licking County, Ohio November 3, 2008 in Newark, Ohio.
Chris Hondros/Getty Images
New claims for jobless benefits increased more than expected last week, reflecting continued weakness in the labor market in the new year.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that first-time requests for unemployment insurance jumped to a seasonally adjusted 524,000 in the week ending Jan. 10, from an upwardly revised figure of 470,000 the previous week. Analysts had expected 500,000 new claims.
The increase is partly due to a flood of requests from newly-laid off people who delayed filing claims over the holidays, a Labor Department analyst said.
The rise comes after two weeks of declines that economists said largely reflected those holiday-related distortions in the data. Analysts have said that retailers did not hire as many temporary seasonal workers this year, due to the recession, and so there weren't as many subsequent layoffs.
But the jump in this week's numbers could signal the resumption of an upward trend in claims that was evident last year.
Initial claims reached their highest level in 26 years three weeks ago when the department said 589,000 people filed new claims. That was the highest level since November 1982, when the economy was emerging from a steep recession, though the labor force has grown by about half since then.
The four-week average of claims, which smooths out fluctuations, fell by 8,000 to 518,500 last week.
In one spot of good news, the number of people continuing to request benefits declined to 4.5 million, down from an upwardly revised figure of 4.6 million the previous week. The continuing claims lag the initial claims data by one week.
Still, the number of people remaining on the rolls is near a 26-year high and is up sharply from a year ago, when it stood at 2.7 million.
The high level of continuing claims is an indication that many laid off workers are having difficulty finding new jobs.
Companies across many different sectors of the economy cut jobs this week. Computer equipment maker Seagate Technology said Wednesday that it will eliminate 2,950 jobs, or 6 percent of its work force.
Other companies that have announced layoffs recently include: pharmaceutical company Pfizer Inc., mobile phone maker Motorola Inc., and industrial conglomerates Textron Inc. and Cummins Inc.
(© 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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