This news comes on the heels of a disappointing April jobs report.
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Even after 46,000 increase in the last three weeks, however, initial claims are still historically low.
While there were no special factors in the data, the Verizon strike and possibly auto plant shutdowns because of Japan’s earthquakes could have contributed to the increase in new filings, Moody’s said.
Despite the increase, this marks 62 consecutive weeks of initial claims below 300,000, the longest streak since 1973.
“Claims continue to unwind their April plunge, which was very likely due to seasonal adjustment problems caused by the early Easter”, said Ian Shepherdson of Pantheon Macroeconomics in a client note.
“New York accounted for most of the increase”, Jacob Oubina, a senior United States economist at RBC Capital markets LLC in NY told Bloomberg. Unadjusted claims increased in MI.
The U.S. central bank raised its benchmark overnight interest rate in December for the first time in almost a decade. There was a surge in claims in NY and MI in the latest week. Economists polled that the forecasted claims will fall to 270,000 in May’s first week.
The dollar was trading higher against a basket of currencies, while prices for U.S. government bonds slipped.
The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, increased 10,250 to 268,250 last week, the highest level in nearly three months. The jobless claims also dropped to a 43-year low a month back. “And this does suggest that the labor market has deteriorated lately”, wrote JPMorgan economist Daniel Silver.
A report on Tuesday showed job openings hit an eight-month high in March, with the rate re-testing its post-recession high.
“The claims data. have increased significantly over the most recent three weeks and this does suggest that the labour market has deteriorated lately”, said Daniel Silver, an economist at JPMorgan in NY.
The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits rose by 37 000 in the week ended April 30, the biggest increase since the end of November, to 2.16 million.
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Another report from the Labour Department showed import prices rose 0.3% for a second month in April, largely reflecting a pickup in petroleum and food.
