Weekly Jobless Claims Up on Seasonal Factors

Washington, DC, January 6–Initial jobless claims jumped unexpectedly last week by 43,000, taking claims to their highest level since late September, a government report showed on Thursday — but an official noted there were seasonal adjustment difficulties.

The number of Americans making first-time claims for state unemployment insurance benefits rose to 364,000 in the week ended Jan. 1, up from a revised 321,000 in the previous week, the Labor Department said.

It was the largest one-week gain since a 62,000 jump in the week ended March 30, 2002, and far surpassed Wall Street expectations for a rise to 331,000 from the originally reported 326,000 in the prior week.

But a Labor Department analyst said the rise was pumped up more than expected because season adjustments were unable to account for the holiday-shortened week, and there was little market reaction to the data.

Analysts said the weekly data had little impact because markets were expecting the volatility.