Jim Cramer Blog

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose last week to the highest level in two months.
The unexpected spike was blamed on the Easter holidays rather than fundamental labor market weakness.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that applications for jobless benefits totaled 342,000 last week, up 19,000 from the previous week.
The increase, which followed a rise of 13,000 the previous week, was much larger than forecast and pushed total claims to the highest level since the week of Feb. 10.
But analysts attributed the surge to problems in adjusting the data for changes in layoff patterns that reflect different times each year for school breaks and the Easter holidays.

Labels: Jobless Claims