December 8, 2005 8:40 AM, EST

Jobless Claims Rise for Week, Labor Says

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he number of U.S. workers filing initial unemployment benefits rose by 6,000 last week to 327,000 last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

The increase led to a jobless level that was greater than 318,000 predicted by economists, Bloomberg reported.

The number of people out of work from the three big hurricanes fell to 7,700 from 9,600 the previous week, Labor said.

The four-week moving average of claims, a less volatile measure, fell slightly to 322,500 from 322,750 a week earlier, Labor said.

The number of people filing continuing jobless claims fell to 2.603 million for the previous week ended Nov. 19, from 2.74 million a week earlier, Labor said.