Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Thursday showed that the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits has risen to a five-month high last week, with claims rising 13,000 to 282,000 during the week of Dec. 5, according to Investor's Business Daily.
The numbers, however, are not likely to signal a deterioration in the labor market, especially since the trends in the economic sector of the country have remained consistent with tightening conditions.
John Ryding, chief economist at RDQ Economics in New York, believes that the spike in jobless claims is quite seasonal.
"As we approach the end of the year, jobless claims have a tendency to be more volatile due to seasonal adjustment issues around the holidays. The message remains that the pace of layoffs is very low," he said, according to Reuters.
The BLS' data on Thursday also showed cheaper crude oil prices and the continued strengthening of the dollar, factors which kept imported inflation pressures subdued in November.
Among the unemployment statistics, however, lies a trend in racial factors, as the unemployment rate of African-Americans has been found to be double that of Caucasians. Their rate has also been found to be higher than that of the Asian and Latino demographic in the country, reports The E-Commerce Journal.
Despite the higher unemployment numbers, however, claims have remained below the 300,000 threshold, which is widely associated with good labor market conditions. The numbers have been within the level for 40 straight weeks, which is the longest stretch since the early 1970s.
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