In the week ended April the 30th, US initial jobless claims extended their uptrend, rising to the highest level since August last year. Initial claims rose by 43 000 to a to-tal level of 474 000, while the consensus was looking for a drop to 410 000. The less volatile four-week moving average increased significantly too, from 409 000 to 431 250. The labour department added that the claims were boosted by New York’s Spring Break, which was out of the seasonal adjustment and also by auto in-dustry layoffs. Continuing claims, which are reported with an extra week lag, sur-prised on the upside of expectations too. In the week ended April the 23rd, continuing claims rose from an upwardly revised 3 659 000 to 3 733 000, while the consensus was looking for a slight decline. In the previous four weeks, jobless claims con-stantly surprised on the upside of expectations, probably partly due to the Easter Holidays. Nevertheless, as the claims continue to rise, fears are grow-ing that it isn’t all about special factors and the US labour market conditions might be weakening again after signs of improvement in the previous months