More Americans than forecast filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, a sign that the labour market is taking time to improve.
Jobless claims fell by 1,000 to 388,000 in the week ended April 21 from a revised 389,000 the prior period that was the highest since early January, U.S. Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The median forecast of economists called for a drop to 375,000.
Fewer layoffs are needed to lay the groundwork for more hiring, which in turn should support consumer spending, the biggest part of the economy. Federal Reserve policy makers yesterday said that while labour-market conditions have improved, the unemployment rate "remains elevated," helping explain why they stuck to a plan to hold borrowing costs close to zero through 2014.
Estimates in the Bloomberg survey ranged from 355,000 to 390,000. The U.S. Labor Department revised the previous week’s figure from 386,000. Claims in the week ended April 14 were the highest since Jan. 7.
The four-week moving average, a less-volatile measure than the weekly figures, climbed to 381,750 last week, the highest since Jan. 7, from 375,500.
The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits rose to 3.32 million in the week ended April 14 from 3.31 million.
The continuing claims figure does not include the number of Americans receiving extended benefits under federal programs.
Those who’ve used up their traditional benefits and are now collecting emergency and extended payments decreased by about 60,000 to 3.14 million in the week ended April 7.
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