By Rob Basso on
1/16/2012 1:56 PM
According to The Labor Department, initial claims for first-time jobless benefits rose 24,000 to 399,000 on Thursday, the highest in six weeks. The four week average, a better indicator of labor market trends, rose 7,750 to 381,750 from a revised 374,000. However, growth is expected to slow during the first three months of this year and help for the economy may still be necessary despite recent data that suggested the recovery was changing in the right direction...