Unemployment claims show long-term problem

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The number of Americans filing continuing claims for unemployment insurance spiked last week, the Labor Department said Thursday, as sluggish hiring continues to drag on the labor market’s recovery.

The number of people filing continuing claims jumped to 4,558,000 in the week ended Feb. 27, the most recent data available. That was up 37,000 from the preceding week’s upwardly revised 4,521,000 claims.

Economists were expecting continuing claims to remain unchanged at 4,500,000.

Full story: Unemployment insurance continuing claims spike – Mar. 11, 2010