DATA SNAP: US Jobless Claims +36K To 482K In Jan 16 Week
Last update: 1/21/2010 8:30:00 AM
By Sarah N. Lynch
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly rose last week - an increase a U.S. Labor Department economist said is partly due to an administrative backlog in processing claims. Total claims lasting more than one week, meanwhile, declined. Initial claims for jobless benefits rose by 36,000 to 482,000 in the week ended Jan. 16, according to the Labor Department's weekly report Thursday. The previous week's level was revised upward to 446,000 from 444,000. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires expected a decrease of 4,000 initial claims. The four-week moving average, which aims to smooth volatility in the data, also increased as well last week. The Labor Department said the four-week moving average increased by 7,000 to 448,250 from the previous week's revised average of 441,250. An economist at the U.S. Labor Department Thursday said last week's numbers were higher then expected in part because the Christmas and New Years holidays created a backlog in some states. "It is not an economic thing - it is an administrative thing," he said. In addition, he added that a total of seven states from Thursday's data had estimated claims figures because of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. Despite Thursday's increase in initial claims, the four-week moving average has been on a downward trend in recent months and economists have said the trend points to a slow-down in the pace of lay-offs. Questions still remain, however, about whether or not laid-off workers will be able to find new jobs anytime soon. The December jobs report found that U.S. job losses were higher than expected and unemployment still remained at 10%. Some have predicted that the unemployment rate may hold steady for much of 2010. In the Labor Department's Thursday report, the number of continuing claims--those drawn by workers for more than one week in the week ended Jan. 9 --fell by 18,000 to 4,599,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 4,617,000. The unemployment rate for workers with unemployment insurance for the week ended Jan. 9 remained unchanged from the prior week at 3.5%. The largest increase in initial claims for the week ended Jan. 9 was in California due to layoffs in the construction and service industries as well as a return to a 5-day work week. The largest decrease in initial claims occurred in Oregon. -By Sarah N. Lynch, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6634; sarah.lynch@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones NewswiresJanuary 21, 2010 08:30 ET (13:30 GMT)
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