March US Initial Claims Surge
April 3, 2008
The number of US workers filing for unemployment benefits jumped to the highest level since 2005 today, coming in at 407,000 claims, up 38,000 from the week prior. Labor Department officials were quick to comment that there was no special situation to support the drastic increase in claims, adding fuel to the fire for Wall Street bears. While some analysts are quick to confirm the data as a precursor to confirm further US weakness, other analysts plan to wait for the Non Farm Labor report, coming out Friday.