Jobless Claims Rose Slightly Last Week

By Mark Memmott

Published April 18, 2013 at 7:45 AM CDT

The scene at a job fair in Manhattan last month.

There were 352,000 first-time claims for unemployment insurance last week, up by 4,000 from the week before, the Employment and Training Administration reports.

The "4-week moving average" that gauges the trend rose by 2,750, to 361,250.

Bloomberg News characterizes the news this way: "The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits was little changed last week, signaling the labor market is stabilizing." Reuters says the report "could further allay fears of a major setback in the labor market recovery."

Mark Memmott

Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.

See stories by Mark Memmott