Initial Jobless Claims Still Show Weak Market

Washington, DC, April 17, 2008—Initial jobless claims edged up in the latest week, according to the Labor Department.

For the week ended April 12, initial claims rose to 372,000, up 17,000, which still signals a weak job market.

The four-week moving average of those claims fell by 750 to stand at 376,000.

Weekly initial claims have been above 350,000 for all of April and were above that level for half of March.

Continuing jobless claims came in at 2.98 million, their highestlevel since the middle of June 2004. The number of continuing claims rose by 26,000.