The number of U.S. workers who filed new applications for jobless benefits jumped 35,000 last week to 445,000, the highest level in more than two months, as a government official attributed the sharp increase largely to administrative backlogs.Still, the sharp rise in new claims, which had fallen steadily since last summer, is likely to put investors on guard following a disappointing December employment report last week.
I'm always suspicious of the "administrative backlog" claim. However, we'll have to wait and see next weeks number to know for sure.
