The number of people seeking unemployment benefits spiked to a seasonally adjusted 439,000 last week, the highest level in 18 months, The Associated Press reported, mainly due to claims filed in states damaged by superstorm Sandy.
The Labor Department has said that Sandy might continue to distort claims data for another two weeks, according to AP. People can file jobless claims if they don’t get paid due to workplace closures.
Although the labor market has seen recent improvement, most economists say the economy is growing in the current quarter at a weak annual rate below 2 percent.
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