Business Notes JOBLESSNESS

In the clearest signal yet that the U.S. economy may be heading into the doldrums after a 6 1/2-year expansion, the Government reported last week that the unemployment rate jumped to 5.3% in April, up from 5% the previous month. The hefty increase reflected a surge of 395,000 people into the labor force as the number of jobs fell by 23,000.

Wall Street gave the report a mixed reception as economists debated whether the figures foreshadowed merely sluggish growth or a genuine recession. Bullish investors initially set off a rally Friday on the assumption that inflation might no longer be a danger and the Federal Reserve Board would soon allow interest rates to fall. But fear of a slump took hold later in the day, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average to 2381.96 at the closing bell, down 2.94 points for the day and 36.84 for the week.

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CREDIT: TIME Chart

CAPTION: Unemployed