US Market Open Lower: Weekly jobless claims jump 22,000 to 496,000

Weekly jobless claims jump 22,000 to 496,000

The number of people filing first-time claims for state unemployment benefits rose last week by 22,000 to a seasonally adjusted 496,000, reflecting a lull in job growth so far in 2010.

Jobless claims have risen in six of the first eight weeks of this year, according to data from the Labor Department.

The recent spike in claims, a reversal from the sharp drop seen during the final months of 2009, has stoked concerns that the nation's labor market could be weakening again, although bad weather affected the data. Snowstorms in the Northeast created a backlog in completing paperwork for jobless claims, a Labor Department spokesman said.