Washington, DC, November 10, 2005-- First-time filings for state unemployment benefits rose by 2,000 in the week ended Nov. 5 to a seasonally adjusted 326,000 claims, the Labor Department said Thursday.
The new claims included an estimated 15,000 related to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita as well as 6,000 related to Hurricane Wilma, a department spokesman said.
A total of 535,000 claims related to Katrina and Rita have been filed, while 7,400 have been filed due to Hurricane Rita.
The hurricane-related figures aren't seasonally adjusted.
The four-week average of new claims fell to 334,250 from 350,500. It's the lowest since just after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29.
The estimates of the storms' impact on initial claims show that labor markets in the rest of the country have been little affected, with underlying initial claims staying in the 300,000 to 320,000 range that prevailed before the hurricanes.
