WASHINGTON (AP) — Applications for weekly unemployment benefits spiked last week, largely because companies let go of thousands of workers after the holiday season.
Weekly applications rose by 24,000 to a seasonally adjusted 399,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That's the highest level in six weeks.
Economists said such a jump is typical in early January and downplayed the increase. It followed three months of steady declines that brought applications to their lowest level in more than three years. And weekly unemployment claims have been below 400,000 in nine of the past 10 weeks.
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