Weekly jobless claims camp out on a plateau

Bloomberg News cited “technical issues” that forced the Labor Department to estimate claims in six states as a possible reason  for a troublesome 9,000 increase in weekly initial jobless claims to 429,000 in the latest week.



The 4-week moving average held steady at 426,250, and continuing claims were practically unchanged at 3.7 million.

Nonetheless, weekly jobless claims are holding well above 400,000 following a brief dip below the key psychological level.  And the elevated level highlights the uncertainty in the economy and the reduced pace of the recovery.