Unemployment claims tick up again

@CNNMoney January 12, 2012: 9:44 AM ET
initial-job-claims.gi.top.jpg

Job applicants attend a job fair in Denver in December.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Just as the jobs recovery seemed to be picking up, the number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment claims rose more than expected last week.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that 399,000 people filed for initial jobless benefits, up 24,000 from the week before. That's awfully close to the 400,000 level economists often say is too high to bring the unemployment rate down substantially.

Obama battles job crisis
The U.S. lost 4.3 million jobs in President Obama's first 13 months in office. Track his progress since then.

But it's too early to start worrying just yet. The encouraging news brought by last week jobs report is not off the table, economists say.

"This can be a wonky period for claims," Jennifer Lee, senior economist with BMO Capital Markets said in a note. "So let's give this a few weeks to see how it plays out."

The initial claims numbers are adjusted for seasonal trends, but economists still had expected a slight tick up last week due to temporary holiday jobs ending.

Many caution not to read too much into one week of data. They look instead to the four-week moving average, which smoothes out volatility. It also ticked up last week, but overall, has remained near the lowest levels since 2008 for about a month.

"We continue to view the labor market as gradually gaining momentum, so anticipate that claims will resume a modest downward trend in the coming months," Troy Davig, senior U.S. economist at Barclays Capital said in a research note.

Meanwhile, just over 3.6 million Americans filed continuing claims in the week ending December 31. That marked an increase of 19,000 from the week before.

The Labor Department's monthly report released Friday showed employers added 200,000 jobs and the unemployment rate fell to 8.5% in December. (Check the unemployment rate in your state). To top of page

Overnight Avg Rate Latest Change Last Week
30 yr fixed3.80%3.88%
15 yr fixed3.20%3.23%
5/1 ARM3.84%3.88%
30 yr refi3.82%3.93%
15 yr refi3.20%3.23%
Rate data provided
by Bankrate.com
View rates in your area
 
Find personalized rates:
Economic Calendar
Latest ReportNext Update
Home pricesAug 28
Consumer confidenceAug 28
GDPAug 29
Manufacturing (ISM)Sept 4
JobsSept 7
Inflation (CPI)Sept 14
Retail sales Sept 14
  • -->

    Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.