May 1 (Bloomberg) — Applications for unemployment benefits unexpectedly climbed to a nine-week high, underscoring the difficulty adjusting the data for seasonal variations such as the Easter holiday and spring recess at schools.
Jobless claims rose by 14,000 to 344,000 in the period ended April 26, the highest level since Feb. 22, Labor Department data showed today in Washington. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 320,000.
"This is a time of the year when there's a lot of seasonal issues to work through," said Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Pierpont Securities LLC in Stamford, Connecticut, whose forecast for 340,000 was the highest in the Bloomberg survey. "Eventually we'll settle out. If we were to settle at 320,000, it would be modest improvement."
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