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First-time jobless claims unexpectedly climbed to a four-month high last week, the Labor Department said Thursday, providing more evidence that the economic recovery might be heading into another spring slowdown.
The number of people filing initial claims for unemployment benefits rose to 385,000 for the week ending Saturday, an increase of 28,000 from the previous week’s revised figure, the Labor Department said.
Some of the increase could stem from difficulties the Labor Department has with seasonal adjustments around the Easter holiday and school spring breaks.
Still, claims rose for the third straight week after the closely watched labor-market indicator had dropped to a nearly four-year low of 334,000 in early March. Economists say claims below 350,000 a week indicate moderate jobs growth.
The four-week average, which smooths out some short-term spikes, had fallen to a five-year low of about 340,000 in the week ending March 16. That figure rose last week to 354,250, up 11,250 from the previous week.
Although last week’s sharp rise could be just “a false alarm,” the recent trend of rising jobless claims is not a good sign, Rupkey said.
“There is evidence that the economy is going to slow in the second quarter again this year as the European economy is weak and the mandatory spending cuts from Washington start to have a greater impact,” he said.
In New Mexico, the unemployment rose from 6.6 percent in January to a seasonally adjusted 6.8 percent in February, the state Workforce Solutions Department reported last week. Seven industries added employment and six industries lost jobs, including the government sector with a registered net loss of 900 jobs over the year.
News of the latest increase in jobless claims came on the heels of some disappointing private economic data this week that does not bode well for today’s government report on March unemployment.
Payroll firm Automatic Data Processing Inc. said Wednesday that the private sector added 158,000 jobs last month, the fewest since October.
Journal staff contributed to this report.
— This article appeared on page B01 of the Albuquerque Journal
