Dive Brief:

• The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose sharply last week, and that could mean a slowndown in hiring, though some of the jobless benefits increase could be attributed to temporary holiday factors, according to the New York Times.
• The Times reports that initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 20,000, to a seasonally adjusted 287,000, for the week that ended Dec. 26, the Labor Department said last week.
• That was the highest number since July, although in recent months the weekly readings for claims have held near a 42-year low, according to the Times.

Dive Insight:

The Times article notes that many economists expect a slower pace of job market improvement in 2016, though the unemployment rate should fall further from its current 5%. After dropping sharply for years, the article adds, jobless claims have seemed to stabilize since the middle of 2015.

Last week’s data may have been distorted by the holiday period, although the Labor Department said no "special factors" influenced the jobless claim numbers. The four-week moving average, which analysts follow closely because it reduces volatility, rose 4,500 to 277,000. Claims have been below 300,000, a number that typically reflects a "buoyant" labor market, for 43 consecutive weeks – the longest stretch since the early 1970s, according to the Times.