Snow causes rise in jobless-aid filings

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

The number of people applying for unemployment benefits rose sharply last week, but the figures largely were distorted by rare snowstorms that swept through the Southeast.

Applications surged last week by a seasonally adjusted 51,000 to 454,000, the highest level since late October, the Labor Department said Thursday.

A government analyst said that a major reason for the spike was the harsh weather in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. That forced many companies to shut down temporarily and also prevented many people from applying for benefits in the previous week.

When state offices, which had closed, reopened and people were able to file applications, that pushed the number of requests up sharply, the analyst said.

The four Southern states reported large increases in the number of requests for unemployment benefits. Trucking companies, delivery firms, construction companies and others were affected.

Applications had been declining steadily for several weeks. Requests for unemployment benefits fell sharply in the previous week to 403,000.

Many economists consider data in January less reliable because of seasonal fluctuations.

Applications below 425,000 tend to signal modest job growth. But they would need to dip consistently to 375,000 or below to indicate a significant decline in the unemployment rate.