WASHINGTON — A renewed rise in layoffs is the latest sign that higher fuel prices may be slowing the economy.
A 23 percent spike in first-time applications for unemployment benefits over the past month suggests that hiring may look weaker when the government issues the April jobs report today.
Most analysts agree the economy has strengthened enough to keep growing this year. But gas prices have risen for 44 straight days. Consumers are spending more to fill their tanks, leaving them with less to spend elsewhere. As a result, many companies are feeling less certain about the economy’s health and could delay hiring plans.
“We have found that higher gas prices can lead to a slowdown in the pace of hiring,” said Daniel Silver, an economist at JPMorgan Chase.
Applications rose last week to a seasonally adjusted 474,000, an eight-month high. A Labor Department spokesman said the spike was largely the result of unusual factors, including a high number of school systems in New York that closed for spring break.
Still, applications have risen by nearly 100,000 from February’s three-year low of 375,000 — a figure typically consistent with sustainable job growth.
“The trend is clearly upward, so that’s disconcerting,” Kurt Karl, chief U.S. economist for Swiss Re, said, referring to the increase. “When you get three or four weeks in a row of special factors, they’re no longer so special.”
The consensus view among economists is that the economy added 185,000 jobs in April and that the unemployment rate was unchanged at 8.8 percent.
