The number of first-time claims for jobless benefits rose by 46,000 last week, to 388,000, the Employment and Training Administration says .
The previous week's total — 342,000 — was the fewest since early 2008. The increase last week put claims back into the range where they've been stuck for a year, between 350,000 and 400,000.
"At least a major part of the jump would be a correction from the prior week," Tom Simons, an economist at Jefferies Group Inc. in New York, tells Bloomberg News . "We're seeing very gradual improvement in the labor market. The economy is just plodding along at the moment."
"A Labor Department official said it appeared that state-level administrative issues were distorting the data. The government adjusts its readings for claims to take into account regular seasonal swings. Claims usually increase at the beginning of a quarter, but one state appears to be following a different pattern than normal in reporting its claims, which led to the wild fluctuations over the last couple of weeks, the official said."
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