The number of new claims for unemployment benefits last week caught market watchers by surprise. Instead of dropping to 404,000 new claimants, the number increased by 10,000 t0 424,000 new claims.
The result show the volatility in the employment market clearly confirming that the US employment outlook remains weak. Total unemployment is still at nine percent and little headway has been made in reducing this number in the past six months.
“Claims are still unfortunately seeing some upward pressure from state and local government job cuts,†said Russell Price, a senior economist at Ameriprise Financial Inc. in Detroit. The first-quarter growth figures show “a modest soft patch to the recovery,†he said.
Source: Bloomberg
