More Americans than forecast filed claims for jobless benefits last week, a sign the pace of improvement in the labor market is slowing. Jobless claims increased 13,000 in the week ended April 7 to 380,000, the highest since Jan. 28, the Labor Department reported today in Washington. The median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey called for 355,000 claims. The number of people on unemployment benefit rolls and those receiving extended payments declined. A pickup in claims, following last week’s figures showing a smaller-than-projected rise in March employment, may make it difficult to boost the consumer spending that ... (full story)