By SPA,
Washington : U.S. mid-Atlantic factory activity in April fell into its worst slump since the 2001 recession, while the number of Americans receiving jobless benefits grew to its highest level in nearly four years, two reports showed Thursday, offering further signs the U.S. economy remains weak.
The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank said its business activity index fell to negative 24.9—much worse than expected and the lowest level since February 2001—from negative 17.4 in March. Analysts had expected another contraction in the index, but not one so severe.
In a bad sign for the future, the Philadelphia Fed’s index of new orders fell to its lowest since February 2001, while its employment index recorded its worst performance since May 2003.
The survey followed government data showing the number of workers receiving jobless benefits rose to 2.98 million in early April. New claims for jobless benefits rose by 17,000 to 372,000 last week, the Labor Department said.
The four-week moving average of new jobless claims, considered a more reliable guide to labor-market trends because its smoothes out weekly fluctuations, fell slightly to 376,000 from 376,750 a week earlier.