Durable Goods Rise; So Do Jobless Claims

Powered by demand for military equipment, orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket manufactured goods rose an unexpectedly sharp 2% in March.

The Commerce Department said last month’s increase in demand for durable goods, items expected to last at least three years, followed a 1.5% decline in February.

That good news for the economy was tempered by a second government report, which showed that the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose last week to the highest level in a year.

The Labor Department said the number of newly laid-off workers filing for jobless benefits rose to 455,000 last week, up 8,000 from the previous week and the highest since March 2002.