Initial Jobless Claims Higher Than Expected

Washington, DC, Nov. 6, 2008--Initial jobless claims rose more than anticipated last week and total jobless rolls climbed to the highest level in 25 years.

Some 481,000 workers filed initial claims in the week ended Nov. 1, the Labor Department said, exceeding the 477,000 projected by economists.

Companies are facing reduced access to credit alongside the biggest slowdown in consumer spending in 28 years.

The hurricanes that hit the Gulf Coast earlier this year are no longer having a ``significant'' influence on claims, a Labor spokesman said.

The four-week moving average of initial claims, a less volatile measure, was unchanged at 477,000. So far this year, weekly claims have averaged 398,000, compared with an average 321,000 for all of 2007.

Forty states and territories reported an increase in new claims, while 13 reported a decrease.