Jobless claims hit eight-month high

That figure is similar to a separate report on Wednesday that showed private-sector employment increasing by 179,000 in April, which was weaker than expected and the smallest increase in about five months, according to ADP Employer Services.

Unemployment claims had been steadily dropping for the past six months, finally falling below the 400,000 mark, a level economists say shows sustained job growth, after hitting a peak of 659,000 during the recession. 

Several unusual factors contributed to the increase in claims, including an unexpected surge in applications during spring break in New York and 25,000 layoffs that weren’t expected when making seasonal adjustments to the numbers. Also, Oregon started a new emergency benefits program for the long-term unemployed and some automaking plants were forced to shut down because the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the Labor Department said.

Planned firings for April dropped 4.8 percent to 36,490 from that same month last year, according to a Wednesday report by Chicago-based Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. 

The four-week moving average, which is less volatile than the weekly numbers, was 431,250, an increase of 22,250 from the previous week’s revised average of 409,000.

The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ended April 16 was slightly above 8 million, a decrease of 171,547 from the previous week.

The number of people collecting jobless benefits increased by 74,000 in the week ended April 23 to 3.73 million. The continuing claims figure does not include the number of workers receiving extended benefits under federal programs.

The number of workers who’ve exhausted their 26 weeks of state benefits and have moved on to federal programs decreased by about 42,900 to 4.12 million in the week ended April 16.

Overall, 20 states and territories reported an increase in claims, while 33 had a decrease.