Fewer seek jobless benefits
Decline follows surge the previous week
WASHINGTON – Fewer people applied for unemployment benefits last week, partly reversing a sharp jump in applications the previous week.
The Labor Department said Thursday that the number of people applying for unemployment benefits dropped 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 403,000 in the week ending April 16. The decline comes after applications rose 31,000 a week earlier.
Applications near 375,000 are consistent with sustainable job growth. Applications peaked during the recession at 659,000.
The four-week average, a less volatile measure, rose for the second straight week to 399,000. That’s about 10,000 higher than it was a month ago.
Economists said the previous week’s jump in applications was influenced to some degree by a seasonal quirk that is difficult to adjust for at the start of each quarter. Many workers delay filing their applications until the new quarter begins, if that means they will receive a higher level of benefits.
“Normally, most of any upward effect from this factor is reversed within a couple of weeks,” said Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist at MFR, Inc.
The rise could also be partly due to disruptions in the U.S. auto industry stemming from the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, some economists said.
Businesses added more than 200,000 jobs for the second straight month in March, the biggest two-month hiring spree in five years. The unemployment rate fell to a two-year low, at 8.8 percent.