Washington, DC, October 26, 2006--Claims for state unemployment benefits rose by 8,000 in the latest week, Labor Department data released Thursday showed.
The government said 308,000 people filed unemployment claims the week ended Oct. 21. The report suggests a stable job market. Last week, 300,000 workers filed for unemployment benefits, while the week before, 309,000 filed.
Continuing unemployment claims rose by 3,000 to 2.45 million. Initial claims represent job destruction, while the level of continuing claims indicates how hard or easy it is for displaced workers to find new jobs.
The four-week average of initial claims -- which smoothes out weekly events like strikes and distortions in the data -- fell by 2,750 to 305,250. This marked the lowest level since the week ended Feb. 25.
The four-week average of continuing claims rose by 4,000, to 2.44 million, in the week ended Oct. 14.
