New Jobless Claims 'Unexpectedly' Soar

YahooNews.com:

"Although our 2.5 percent estimate for annualized first-quarter real GDP growth still looks right, the U.S. economy appears to be headed for stronger growth in the second quarter," said Edward McKelvey, an economist with the bank.

But there was still plenty of slack in the labor market. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 24,000 to a seasonally adjusted 484,000 last week. A Labor Department official attributed the spike to a backlog in applications from the Easter holiday and saw no unusual economic factors.

The Obama Recession continues. Sigh.