Weekly Unemployment Claims Spike as Jobs Market Remains Tight

By Newsroom America Staff at 19 Jul 2012

(Newsroom America) -- The number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims spiked by 34,000 last week, pushing it closer to levels consistent with the kind of substandard jobs growth seen over the past several months.

Initial claims jumped to 386,000 last week, according to the Labor Department, which revised last week's figures up to 352,000 from 350,000.

Reuters said economists the newswire service polled expected jobless claims to be around 365,000.

Despite an uptick in new claims this week, the Labor Department reported that the four-week moving average of claims, thought to be a better indicator, fell by 1,500 to 375,500.

The U.S. labor market has endured three months of sub-100,000-jobs growth, fueling speculation of a new recession as employers, many who say they are uncertain about new costs associated with the health care law and other regulations, shy away from hiring.

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