Initial Jobless Claims Rise to 422,000 in Latest Week

Click here to write a Letter to the Editor.

he number of Americans applying for unemployment insurance in the week ended Sept. 6 rose to the highest level in two months, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

Initial jobless claims increased by 3,000 to 422,000, from a revised 419,000. Many economists consider 400,000 the dividing line between job market expansion and contraction.

The loss of jobs could undermine the economy by causing consumers to curtail spending, which accounts for about 70% all goods and services produced. That would hurt the demand for trucking services.

Claims were last this high in the week ended July 5. Analysts told Bloomberg that companies have been keeping down costs and relying on productivity gains to meet demand.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile indicator, rose to 407,250 from 402,750, its highest level in six weeks.

The number of people continuing to collect state unemployment insurance rose by 61,000 to 3.672 million in the week ended Aug. 30. That was the highest since the last week of June. Continuing claims have averaged 3.6 million this year, more than the 1994-2002 average of 2.579 million.

10608