Washington, DC, September 21, 2006--The number of workers filing new claims for jobless benefits rose by a larger-than-expected 7,000 last week but remained at a level suggesting stable labor market conditions, a government report on Thursday showed.
First-time claims for state unemployment insurance benefits rose to a seasonally adjusted 318,000 in the week ended September 16, after an upwardly revised 311,000 in the prior week, the Labor Department said.
New claims have held steady in this range for nearly a year after a surge to levels above 400,000 when a burst of U.S. workers sought unemployment aid in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina last September.
The number of workers remaining on unemployment benefits fell 29,000 to 2.46 million in the week ended September 9, the latest period the data were available, the Labor Department said. It was the lowest level in nearly two months.
