Jobless Claims Exceed 400,000 for a 12th Week

By BLOOMBERG NEWS

WASHINGTON, — Applications for initial unemployment benefits exceeded 400,000 for a 12th consecutive week, the Labor Department said today, the longest stretch since the economy was emerging from a recession in 1992.

Jobless claims dropped to 425,000 last week from 453,000 in the prior week, the Labor Department said. Some economists consider claims above 400,000 a sign of slack demand for workers.

Companies are trimming payrolls to shore up profits after the weakest three months of consumer spending in a decade.

"These persistently high claims pose a significant threat to the prospects of a second-half upturn since weak job conditions make consumers more cautious about spending," said David Resler, chief economist at Nomura Securities International. Claims reached a 13-month high of 459,000 in the week that ended April 19.

Federal Reserve policy makers kept the benchmark interest rate at the lowest since 1961 earlier this week and said they expected growth to pick up later this year.

Economists had estimated that claims last week would fall to 440,000 from the initially reported 448,000 a week earlier, based on the median of 35 forecasts. The less-volatile four-week moving average of claims rose 3,250, to 446,000, the highest since mid-April last year.

The number of people continuing to collect state unemployment benefits rose to 3.665 million in the week that ended April 26. That was the highest in six months.

"What is worrying is that continuing claims continue to rise," said Astrid Adolfson, an economist at MCM MoneyWatch in New York. "It confirms that the jobless are having a lot of trouble finding jobs. The bottom line is there is no improvement yet" in the job market.