Jobless Claims Jump to Highest Level in Two Years

he number of U.S. workers filing initial unemployment benefits jumped by 8,000 last week to the highest level in more than two years, following dislocations and job losses in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Claims rose to 432,000 from a revised 424,000 the week before, the Labor Department said Thursday.

About 103,000 of the claims were from people directly affected by Katrina, Bloomberg reported.

The four-week moving average of claims, a less volatile measure, rose to 326,250 from 347,250 for the week, Labor said.

The number of people filing continuing jobless claims rose to 2.666 million for the week ended Sept. 10, from 2.578 million a week earlier.