WASHINGTON - Initial jobless claims rose 2,000 to 414,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending Sept. 3, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Continuing claims fell to 3.717 million for the week ending Aug. 27.
Economists expected 405,000 initial claims and 3.720 million continuing claims, according to the median estimate from Thomson Reuters.
There was no effect on the national claims number from Hurricane Irene according to a Labor official. Irene hit at the end of the week when most claims would already have been filed. Hurricane-related claims could begin appearing next week, the official said.
JPMorgan economists said that "when there is a jump in claims following a hurricane (which does not always occur), the spike generally happens at least one week after the storm's landfall." So, hurricane claims could distort the data for the next couple of weeks. Some people may be delayed in filing claims because of storm damage.
The four-week moving average for initial claims was 414,750, up from a revised 411,000. The four-week average for continuing claims was 3.735 million, up from a revised 3.729 million.
Initial claims for the week ending Aug. 27 were revised to 412,000 from 409,000. Continuing claims for the August 20 week were revised to 3.747 million from 3.720 million in last week's report.
In unadjusted numbers, 21 states and territories posted an increase in initial claims and 32 states showed a decrease. Claims were estimated for four states and territories: California, the District of Columbia, Hawaii and Virginia.
