WASHINGTON - More Americans than forecast filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, a sign to analysts that the labor market is improving in fits and starts.
Jobless claims increased by 14,000 to 348,000 in the week ended Saturday, exceeding all forecasts in a Bloomberg survey and the highest level in a month, from 334,000 in the prior period, the Labor Department said Thursday. A Labor Department spokesman said no states were estimated and there was nothing unusual in the data.
Cold weather and winter storms have damped progress in the housing and labor market, indicating growth slowed in the first twomonths of the year. More seasonable weather will probably help the economy rebound in coming months, leading to further gains in employment, analysts said.
“We still have a fairly constructive view on the labor market,” said Millan Mulraine, deputy head of U.S. research and strategy at TD SecuritiesUSA LLC in New York, whose claims forecast of 345,000 matched the highest estimate in a Bloomberg survey. “There have been some weather-related setbacks in hiring, but as it warms up, you’re going to see much better performance in labor market activity.”
The median forecast of 53 economists surveyed by Bloomberg projected 335,000. Estimates ranged from 325,000 to 345,000. The prior week’s claims were revised down to334,000 from an initial reading of 336,000.
The economy added 113,000 jobs in January, missing the 180,000 median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg, after a gain of 75,000 in December, Labor Department figures showed this month.
A weather-related increase in firings may hurt consumer confidence, raising the risk that the cooling in spending will persist, analysts said.
“It is possible that the economy has lost some momentum beyond bad weather, and that momentum loss encouraged employees to shed workers,” John Herrmann, director of U.S. rate strategy at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities USA Inc. in New York, said before the report. “Jobless claims need to be watched carefully to see if they suggest that some other weakness is present.”
The number of people continuing to receive unemployment benefits increased by 8,000 to 2.96 million in the week ended Feb. 15, Thursday’s report showed.
Forty-eight states and territories reported a decrease in claims, while five reported an increase. The unemployment rate among people eligible for benefits held at 2.3 percent. Both pieces of data are also reported with a one-week lag.
Initial unemployment claims reflect weekly firings and typically wane before employment growth picks up.
Sluggish growth in the housing market has prompted firings at some companies. New York-based JPMorgan Chase & Co., the biggest U.S. bank, said this week that it will eliminate about 8,000 jobs in consumer- and mortgagebanking units in 2014 as fewer customers refinance their loans.
Information for this article was contributed by Kristy Scheuble of The Associated Press.
Business, Pages 21 on 02/28/2014