80,000 jobs lost, unemployment spikes

Employers slash jobs for third straight month while unemployment jumps to 5.1%, a nearly three-year high

The Labor Department said applications for unemployment benefits rose to 407,000 in the week ended March 29, up from a revised 369,000 claims in the previous week.

The last time claims were this high was in the week ended Sept. 17, 2005, just after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast.

A consensus of economists polled by Briefing.com had expected initial jobless claims to fall to 365,000 from the originally reported 366,000.

"There has been a slow deterioration in the labor market," Paul Kasriel, chief economist with Northern Trust, said. "We're starting to see a speed-up in this deterioration," he added.