Thursday, July 3, 2008

WASHINGTON (AP) - The number of newly laid off people signing up
for unemployment insurance rose sharply last week.
 

The Labor Department, in a new report Thursday, says new
applications jumped by 16,000 to 404,000, the highest level since
late March.
 

The increase was bigger than economists were expecting. They
were forecasting claims to rise to around 385,000.
 

A year ago, jobless claims stood at 322,000.
 

The four-week moving average of claims, which smoothes out
weekly volatility, rose last week to 390,500,the highest since
early October 2005.
 
 

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)