The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose last week to a more than one-year high, with economists blaming striking telecommunications workers for the surge and not any deterioration in the overall labor market.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 20,000 to a seasonally adjusted 294,000 for the week ended May 7, the highest level since late February 2015, the Labor Department said. It was the third consecutive week of increases in first-time applications for jobless benefits.
"We have to look past the noise in the latest jobless claims number because it was likely influenced by the Verizon strike. The broader underlying trend in claims remains very constructive," said Jacob Oubina, senior U.S. economist at RBC Capital Markets in New York.
Reference: New York Daily News
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