New US jobless claims "unexpectedly" jump

I love it! "Unexpectedly" jump...Really? No one saw that coming? I'm the only one? No. See, this was only unexpected to people who only read/watch mainstream corporate media. If that's the only source for your news, then the new unemployment figures might seem to have "unexpectedly" jumped. To the rest of us, this was expected.

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New US jobless claims unexpectedly jump

Published: Thursday April 15, 2010

New claims for US unemployment insurance benefits unexpectedly rose last week, largely due to Easter holiday-related factors, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Initial jobless claims totaled a seasonally adjusted 484,000 in the week ending April 10, the highest level since late February, the department reported.

That marked an increase of 24,000 from the prior week's unrevised figure of 460,000 and surprised most analysts who had forecast new claims would fall by 440,000.

In the previous week ending April 3, claims had increased sharply, to 460,000 from 442,000 the prior week.

The Labor Department said the latest increase was due to seasonal factors.

"Volatility is always associated with the Easter holiday," a department official said.

"This is more attributable to administrative factors than to possible layoffs. I did not see anything in the states' numbers that would reflect economic concerns," he said.