Unemployment claims up sharply
New claims for unemployment benefits rose last week to the second-highest level in 10 years, the Dept. of Labor said today. The department added that continued claims for state unemployment benefits for the week ended Oct. 13, the most recently-collected data, rose to the highest level in more than 18 years, climbing 56,000 to 3.65 million.
The department said that the number of newly laid-off workers filing for unemployment benefits rose 8,000 last week to 504,000, a level the government said is generally associated with recessions.
The four-week moving average of initial claims rose 12,000 to 505,000, the highest level since March 1991.
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