The number of Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment benefits rose more than forecast last week to a level that suggests the U.S. labor market is cooling.
Initial jobless claims increased by 12,000 to 346,000 in the week that ended Dec. 15, the most in a month, the Labor Department said today in Washington. The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, climbed to 343,000, the highest since the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Homebuilders and mortgage lenders are cutting staff as the housing slump deepens and banks restrict credit, economists said. Slowing job growth raises concern consumers may limit their spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of the economy.
``Clearly claims are drifting upward,'' said James O'Sullivan, a senior economist at UBS Securities LLC in Stamford, Connecticut. ``I don't see a collapse here but this means consumer spending will be weakening.''
A separate government report today showed the economy expanded the most since 2003 in the third quarter, before the subprime collapse rippled through financial markets to threaten growth. The Commerce Department said gross domestic product increased at a 4.9 percent annualized pace, unchanged from a previous estimate.
After the reports, U.S. Treasury securities were little changed. The yield on the benchmark 10-year note was up 1 basis point to 4.04 percent at 9:40 a.m. in New York. The Standard & Poor's 500 stock index rose 7.5, or 0.5 percent, to 1461.2.
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