Economy

Unemployment claims unexpectedly rose last week

by Vicki Needham - 05/20/10 4:15 PM ET

The news comes as Congressional Democrats released legislation Thursday designed to create jobs through tax cuts and investments by states and local governments.

The labor market has steadily improved, adding 290,000 jobs in April, the most in four years, but employers haven’t accelerated their hiring pace enough to make a dent in the unemployment rate that is hovering near 10 percent.

For the week ending May 8, the number of people receiving jobless benefits fell by 40,000 to 4.63 million. That doesn’t include unemployed workers who have used up their 26 weeks of benefits.

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