Global General

Special

Newsmaker

Asia Pacific

America

Middle East

Europe

Africa

New US jobless claims rise more than expected

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-10-22 21:29

WASHINGTON: The number of newly laid-off workers filing claims for jobless benefits rose more than expected last week, after falling in five of the past six weeks.

There is little sign that employers are willing to hire, even as the economy shows signs of recovering.

Related readings:  US jobless rate hits 9.8%, highest since 1983  US home sales, jobless claims drop unexpectedly  Jobless rates in 14 US states top 10%  US jobless figure not to peak until 2011: Krugman US new jobless claims drop slightly

The Labor Department says new jobless claims rose to a seasonally adjusted 531,000 last week, from an upwardly revised 520,000 the previous week. Wall Street economists had expected only a slight increase, according to Thomson Reuters.

The number of people continuing to claim benefits dropped for the fifth straight week to 5.9 million, from just over 6 million the previous week.