Your Economy (No Politics)

[Bullwinkle]

US jobless claims hit 2006 high
Thu Mar 16, 11:15 AM ET


WASHINGTON (AFP) - US jobless claims rose by 5,000 to 309,000 in the week ending March 11, the highest level since December, the Labor Department revealed.

Initial claims have risen three weeks in a row and five of the past six weeks since hitting a six-year low of 273,000 in late January.

The four-week average of new claims, which strips out one-time events such as holidays and weather, rose by 5,750 to 296,500, the highest since the second week of January.

With claims now drifting higher, it's possible the low levels in January and February were due more to favorable weather than to a fundamental improvement in the labor market.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060316/bs_afp/useconomyunemployment_060316161517