According to the Labor Department, the number of unemployment claims has reached its highest level in two years. The number of people filing for unemployment insurance has also reached an unexpected high.

During the week ending February 23, the number of first-time claims filed increased by 19,000 to 373,000 from the previous week's total of 354,000. Experts at Thomson Financial, however, had expected a total of 350,000 claims.

Regarding the increase, Ian Shepherdson of High Frequency Economics said, "The level of claims this week now matches the four-week average recorded at the end of February 2001, immediately before the recession began in March."

However, according to Richard Iley of BNP Paribas, the claims' levels are "still surprisingly low...Historically, weekly claims of around the 400,000 level have been associated with recession and negative non-farm payroll prints."

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