U.S. Jobless Claims Spike

Jobless claims in the United States spiked last week, according to data released Thursday by the Labor Department. Although this represents a change from the steadily declining number of claims from past weeks, the change at this point still seems to be an outlier indicating that the economy is on a long, slow road to recovery. Claims for state unemployment benefits also slightly exceeded expectations, and factory activity increased slightly in the mid-Atlantic region.