Katrina weighs on jobless claims

Number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits tops 400,000, but is less than forecast.

September 22, 2005: 8:57 AM EDT

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits climbed above 400,000 last week, the government said Thursday, due to the effects of Hurricane Katrina -- but the figure was below economists' forecasts.

Initial jobless claims rose to 432,000 in the week ended Sept. 17 from an upwardly revised reading of 424,000 the week before, the Labor Department said. Analysts polled by Briefing.com anticipated a 450,000 increase in jobless claims.

Americans filing for unemployment for the first time only rose by 8,000 last week after a revised 97,000 spike in the previous week.

The Labor Department said jobless claims related to the storm that slammed into the Gulf Coast over three weeks ago totaled 103,000 last week and 91,000 the week before.

The four-week moving average of new claims, which economists prefer to use as a gauge of layoffs because it smooths weekly volatility, was 376,250 an increase of 29,000 from the previous week's revised average of 347,250, the Labor Department said.

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