Filings for jobless benefits up 24,000

Applications for weekly unemployment benefits jumped last week, largely because companies let go of thousands of workers after the holiday season.

Weekly applications rose 24,000 to a seasonally adjusted 399,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s the highest level in six weeks.

Economists said such a jump is typical in early January and downplayed the increase. It followed three months of steady declines that brought applications to their lowest level in more than three years. And weekly unemployment claims have been below 400,000 in nine of the last 10 weeks.

That’s a “clear indication that the pace of layoffs has slowed,” said Steven Wood, chief economist at Insight Economics.

Applications typically soar in the first two weeks of the year. That’s because many companies lay off temporary workers who were brought on to help during the holidays. The department tries to adjust for those patterns. But the task is difficult because the data can be volatile.

The four-week average, which tries to smooth such fluctuations, also rose, to 381,750. It had fallen in the previous week to a 31⁄ 2- year low.

When applications consistently drop below 375,000, that generally signals that hiring is strong enough to reduce the unemployment rate.

Before last week’s surge, applications had been below 375,000 for three of the last four weeks.

The unemployment rate fell in December to 8.5%, a three-year low. Employers added 200,000 net jobs, double November’s 100,000 gain.