Thanks a LOT Al Gore and crew! Jobless Claims: Highest in Over 2 Years
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans applying for first-time jobless benefits rose in the latest week to the highest level in more than two years, the Labor Department said on Thursday.
Initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits rose two straight weeks to 358,000 in the week ended Nov. 25 from an upwardly revised 339,000 claims in the previous week, the department said. Wall Street economists polled by Reuters were expecting 330,000 claims.
The government originally reported the number of initial claims as 336,000 in the Nov. 18 week.
The latest figure was the highest since 384,000 jobless claims in the week ended July 4, 1998, the department said.
The closely watched four-week average, which irons out weekly fluctuations, increased six consecutive weeks to 343,000 claims in the week ended Nov. 25 from a revised 331,000 in the prior week.
The four-week average was at a level not seen since the July 18, 1998 week, when it was 355,250.
The Labor Department said it could not pinpoint any one industry for the increase in jobless claims last week, which included the Thanksgiving Day holiday.
``We do not know at this point,'' a department official said. ''There is more volatility from November to the new year in week-to-week.''
In the Nov. 18 week, 26 states reported an increase in claims of 1,000 or more. California reported 13,567 layoffs in the construction and service industries, and agriculture, Labor said.
Illinois said its 8,656 layoffs were mainly in the trade and service industries, and manufacturing, while Pennsylvania had 5,387 layoffs in the construction, trade, service and transportation equipment industries.
No states reported decreases of claims of 1,000 or more. |
