The number of persons filing claims for unemployment benefits for the first time rocketed above the ‘magical’ 400,000 mark, another sure sign that the job market remains soft. There were 408,000 initial unemployment claims filed in the week ending August 13, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday, an increase of 9,000 from an upwardly revised figure of 399,000, the previous week.
The jump in initial unemployment claims was higher than the 400,000 economists had forecast.
Initial claims have been more than 400,000 for the last 18 out of 19 weeks.
