Posted on May 5, 2011
| Mr. Fish / Will Hope for Work |
Recovery?What recovery? The number of Americans filing for new unemploymentbenefits rose to the highest number in eight months, a sign that nearlyhalf a million people have lost their jobs since last summer —YL
Reuters:While the surprise jump in initial claimsfor unemployment benefits was blamed on factors ranging from springbreak layoffs to the introduction of an emergency benefits program,economists said it corroborated reports this week indicating a loss ofmomentum in job creation.
New claims for state jobless benefits rose43,000 to 474,000, the highest since mid-August, the Labor Departmentsaid on Thursday. Economists had expected claims to fall.
One factor that likely helped push claims up and that could provelingering were auto layoffs brought about by supply disruptions fromJapan’s earthquake and tsunami.
A second report showed nonfarmproductivity increased at a 1.6 percent annual rate in the first threemonths of the year, braking from a 2.9 percent pace in the fourthquarter.
“We do not think that the entire rise inclaims over the last month can be explained by special factors alone,”said Harm Bandholz, chief U.S. economist at UniCredit Research in NewYork. “It seems instead as if the improvement in the labor marketslowed a bit.”
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