U.S. Jobless Claims Fall as Storm Starts to Affect Data
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Fewer Americans than forecast filed claims for unemployment insurance last week as the effects of Hurricane Sandy started to show up.
Applications for jobless benefits fell by 8,000 to 355,000 in the week ended Nov. 3, the Labor Department said today in Washington. One state said the loss of electricity due to the storm suppressed filings, while others said workers who lost their jobs as a result of the weather were starting to apply, a Labor Department spokesman said as the data were released to the press. The spokesman declined to identify the state affected by the power loss, saying it was department policy not to name individual states.