Unexpected! Jobless Claims Up

I'm just so absolutely shocked that I can't believe it. Really. No, really. Cough, cough:

Separately, initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 10,000 to 418,000, the Labor Department said, above economists' expectations for a rise to 410,000.

Economists said the elevated claims indicated the economy's anticipated pull out of the soft patch it has been trapped in since the beginning of the year might only be modest.

"Jobless claims are a leading economic indicator. These numbers don't support the case for having 3.5 to 4 percent growth in the second half of the year that some people had talked about," said John Silvia, chief economist at Well Fargo in Charlotte, North Carolina.

ObamaNomics, baby.

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