The number of jobless claims unexpectedly jumped last week, rising to an eight-month high, the U.S. Labor Department said on Thursday.
In the week ending April 20, applications for jobless benefits jumped by 43,000 from the previous week to, 474,000.
The surprise increase in initial jobless benefits was due to factors such as auto shutdowns on account of the disaster in Japan, spring break layoffs, and a new emergency benefits program in Oregon, the Labor Department said.
With an economy struggling to gain momentum, there are concerns that, the jump in unemployment claims coupled with only 185,000 workers added to payrolls in April, fewer than the previous month and less than projected, improvement in the labor market has stalled.
