An already jittery stock market wasn’t helped by the latest reading on weekly jobless claims, which came in much worse than expected.
The Labor Department said Thursday that initial claims for unemployment benefits jumped by 25,000 to 471,000 for the week ended May 15. The results were not only in contrast to the decline of 4,000 that was estimated by economists, but were also a disappointment in light of recent gains made on the employment front.
The increase was the largest since the week ended February 13 when claims rose 40,000.
The prior week’s total was also revised modestly higher, to 446,000 from 444,000.
Meanwhile, the four-week moving average, which economists like because it can smooth out week-to-week gyrations, increased by 3,000 to 453,000.
The Labor Department said there were no special administrative factors affecting the claims report, but did note an increase in claims in Missouri and Tennessee in the aftermath of flooding in those states.
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending May 8 were in California, Michigan, New Jersey, Georgia and Puerto Rico, while the largest decreases were in New York, Kentucky, Connecticut, Missouri and New Hampshire.
The data put added pressure on stocks, which were already being weighed down by weak European markets and the softening euro. Shortly after the open in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 212 points at 10229.
