U.S. Jobless Claims Rise to One-Year High on Surge in New York
Source: Bloomberg
May 12, 2016 8:30 AM EDT
Updated on May 12, 2016 9:29 AM EDT
Applications for unemployment benefits unexpectedly increased last week to the highest level since February 2015 as filings surged in New York.
Initial jobless claims rose by 20,000 to 294,000 in the week ended May 7, a report from the Labor Department showed Thursday. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a decline to 270,000.
A jump in filings in New York state may reflect striking workers at Verizon Communications Inc., spring break holiday at schools or a combination of the two. Economists will continue to monitor claims data in the coming weeks before concluding that the labor market is taking a bigger step back.
New York accounted for most of the increase, said Jacob Oubina, a senior U.S. economist at RBC Capital Markets LLC in New York. Its not a clean read.
Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-12/u-s-jobless-claims-unexpectedly-rise-to-more-than-one-year-high