New claims for jobless benefits increased more than expected last week, reflecting continued weakness in the labor market in the new year.
The Labor Department says first-time requests for unemployment insurance jumped to a seasonally adjusted 524,000 in the week ending Jan. 10, from an upwardly revised figure of 470,000 the previous week. Analysts expected 500,000 new claims.
A Labor Department analyst says the increase is partly due to a flood of requests from newly-laid off people who delayed filing claims over the holidays.
