Jobless Claims Up 10,000 To 455,000 Last Week

Initial claims for state unemployment rose 10,000 to 455,000 in the Sept. 13 employment survey week, as Louisiana cited claims resulting from Hurricane Gustav, the Labor Department reported yesterday.

For the week ended Sept. 13, the seasonal adjustment factor had expected an increase of 10.3% or 34,600 in unadjusted claims, but they actually rose 12.9% or 43,436 to 380,170, a Labor analyst said. There were 261,971 claims in the comparable week a year earlier.

The analyst noted that Louisiana was finally able to report jobless claims in the Sept. 13 week after being unable to file in the previous two weeks due to damage from Gustav.

The state “came through with a large number” for the Sept. 13 week due to the impact of Gustav, the analyst noted, adding that excluding Louisiana, claims would have fallen this week. He noted, however, that the exact impact of Gustav could not be quantified at this point.

Continuing claims for the Sept. 6 week fell 55,000 to 3.478 million after jumping 129,000 in the previous week.

— Market News International

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