Weekly Initial Jobless Claims up 7,000

Washington, DC, March 1, 2007--The number of first-time filings for unemployment claims rose by 7,000 in the latest week, while the number of continuing jobless claims rose to the highest level since December 2005.

First-time initial jobless claims climbed by 7,000 in the week ending Feb. 24, to 338,000, the Labor Department reported.

The four-week moving average of new claims -- considered a better indicator because it smoothes out one-time events like strikes or weather -- rose by 7,500 to 335,250, its highest level since the end of October 2005.

Meanwhile, the number of people collecting unemployment benefits in the week ending Feb. 17 rose by 134,000 to 2.64 million, the most since Dec. 24, 2005.

The four-week average of continuing claims rose by 24,000 to 2.54 million, the most since the end of January 2006.

The insured unemployment rate -- the portion of all workers who are covered by unemployment insurance who are collecting benefits -- rose to 2.0% from 1.9%.