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Jobless claims rise to highest in six years
The number of newly laid off people signing up for jobless benefits last week unexpectedly climbed to its highest point in more than six years as the faltering economy forced companies to cut back.
The Labor Department reported today that new applications filed for unemployment insurance rose by a seasonally adjusted 7,000 to 455,000 for the week ending Aug. 2. The increase left claims at their highest level since late March 2002.
A program to locate people eligible for jobless benefits played a role in the increase, a Labor Department analyst said. However, the analyst couldn’t say how much of a role.
The latest snapshot of layoff filings was worse than analysts expected. They were forecasting new claims to drop to around 430,000.
The data disappointed Wall Street and the White House. The Dow Jones industrials fell more than 100 points in morning trading.
— Associated Press
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