DATA SNAP: US Jobless Claims Rise 25K In Feb 12 WeekLast update: 2/17/2011 8:30:00 AM
By Jeffrey Sparshott and Luca Di Leo
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week as the labor market remains sluggish despite the economy's improvement. Initial jobless claims increased by 25,000 to 410,000 in the week ended Feb. 12, the Labor Department said Thursday in its weekly report. The previous week's figures were revised to 385,000 from 383,000. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had expected claims would rise last week by 17,000 to 400,000. New claims had fallen sharply over the previous two weeks as employment rebounded from severe winter storms. Now, the jobs market appears to have stabilized near January's levels. The four-week moving average of new claims, considered a more reliable indicator because it smoothes out volatile data, increased 1,750 to 417,750 in the week ending Feb. 12. Jobless claims have been on a gradually downward trend since September 2010. The U.S. labor market has been slowly improving as the recovery gains momentum. Non-farm payrolls rose by a mere 36,000 jobs in January, but the disappointingly small increase was blamed on snowstorms. The data showed the U.S. jobless rate tumbled to its lowest level since April 2009. The U.S. economy has been picking up speed in recent months, and the Federal Reserve expects it to grow at a stronger pace this year, lifted by consumer and business spending. Recent indicators have been mixed as the country shakes off the effect of storms that shut down parts of the country. But the latest batch of data on Wednesday showed surprising gains for the battered housing sector, while U.S. manufacturers continued to increase production. Still, Fed officials estimate that it will probably take at least four years for unemployment to fall to between 5% and 6% from January's 9.0% rate. The Labor Department said in Thursday's report that the number of continuing claims--those drawn by workers for more than a week--climbed 1,000 to 3,911,000 in the week ended Feb. 5. Continuing claims are reported with a one-week lag. The unemployment rate for workers with unemployment insurance was 3.1% in the week ending Feb. 5, unchanged from the prior week. The state-by-state breakdown of new claims, which is also reported with a one-week lag, showed North Carolina and Michigan with the biggest increases in claims. States with the largest declines were led by Florida, as it reported fewer layoffs in construction, trade, service and manufacturing industries. The Labor Department estimated figures for Alaska and Puerto Rico during the Feb. 12 week. The Labor Department report on jobless claims can be accessed at: dol.gov -By Jeffrey Sparshott and Luca Di Leo, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9291; jeffrey.sparshott@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones NewswiresFebruary 17, 2011 08:30 ET (13:30 GMT) |
