Bloomberg never fails to disappoint.

(Bloomberg News) — Claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week, pushed up for a second time by a labor dispute at Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ)

Jobless claims climbed by 5,000 to 417,000 in the week ended Aug. 20, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News projected a drop in claims to 405,000, according to the median forecast. At least 8,500 applications were filed by workers at Verizon last week, compared with 12,500 the prior week, a department spokesman said as the data was released to the press.

The report signals that excluding the communications dispute, companies are slowing the pace of firings, which may ease concern that consumers will cut back on spending. At the same time, an unemployment rate at 9.1 percent is a reminder that a sustained labor-market rebound has yet to develop two years into the economic recovery.

“The labor market continues to muddle along,” Richard DeKaser, a senior economist at the Parthenon Group in Boston, said before the report. “The pace of growth simply isn’t adequate to deliver the kind of gains needed to drive down unemployment.”