WASHINGTON — New claims for US jobless benefits unexpectedly surged by 43,000 last week to their highest level since last summer, according to data that gave another sign of the economy’s struggle in creating jobs, the Labor Department said Thursday.
Initial unemployment claims increased to a seasonally-adjusted 474,000 in the week ended April 30, while the prior week’s figure was revised to 431,000 from an originally-reported 429,000.
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires forecast that claims would fall by 19,000 in the latest week. The level of 474,000 was the highest since the week ending Aug. 14, 2010.
A Labor Department analyst attributed the surprising increase to one-time administrative factors, including additional layoffs in New York state due to spring break, which doubled the number of claims in the state. Other reasons cited were a new emergency benefit program in Oregon and additional automobile industry claims.
“I don’t think it’s economic factors,” the analyst said.
Still, the four-week moving average of new claims, considered a more reliable indicator because it smooths out volatile weekly data, climbed by 22,250 to 431,250 in the week ending April 30.
Economists generally think that the economy is adding more jobs than it is shedding once the weekly claims figure falls below 400,000. So far this year, new claims bounced above and below that number, an indication of the job market’s uncertain recovery. The US unemployment rate came down quite a bit in the last six months yet remains elevated at 8.8 percent in March.
Job growth is essential for increased spending by consumers, who help propel the US economy.
The Labor Department said Thursday that the number of continuing unemployment benefit claims — those drawn by workers for more than a week — rose by 74,000 to 3,733,000 in the week ended April 23. Continuing claims are reported with a one-week lag.
The unemployment rate for workers with unemployment insurance was three percent in the week ending April 23, compared to 2.9 percent a week earlier.
The state-by-state breakdown of new claims, which is also reported with a one-week lag, showed that New Jersey had the biggest rise in jobless claims, up 5,326 because of layoffs in the transportation, warehousing, trade, service and public administration industries.
Florida had the biggest decrease, 1,861, because of fewer layoffs in the construction, trade and service industries and in agriculture.
