Evidence of a U.S. recession grew Thursday with economic reports showing more workers claiming jobless benefits and mid-Atlantic factory activity in its worst slump in six years. Separately, the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI), an independent research group, added to the pessimism, saying the U.S. economy is “unambiguously” in recession. The Labor Department reported that the number of U.S. workers filing initial claims for unemployment aid jumped 22,000 last week, while the overall number of American receiving jobless benefits rose to a three-and-a-half year high. The report suggested a further deterioration in the job market. Last week's increase in jobless claims pushed the four-week moving average—which smoothes out weekly fluctuations—to 365,250, the highest since October 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The number of unemployed workers who continue to receive state benefits rose by 32,000 to 2.865 million, the highest level since August 2004. In a second report, factory activity in the U.S. mid-Atlantic region shrank for the fourth consecutive month in March, according to the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank's business activity index, which registered at negative 17.4 this month. The ECRI said its weekly leading index (WLI) fell to 130.8 last week from 132.1 the previous week. “With the WLI having dropped more than 13 points in the last nine months, it is exhibiting a pronounced, pervasive, and persistent decline that is unambiguously recessionary,” said ECRI director Lakshman Achuthan.
