Unemployment benefit claims rise to four-month high

Web posted November 13, 1998

Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- The number of Americans filing applications for unemployment checks jumped 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 321,000 last week, the highest level since the General Motors strikes flooded Midwestern unemployment offices with applicants this summer.

The increase in first-time benefit claims compared with the previous week was larger than expected. The total reported today by the Labor Department was the highest since the week ended July 11.

A four-week moving average of claims, which smoothes fluctuations in the volatile data series, rose to a 14-week high of 312,500, up from 311,000 during the four-week period ended a week earlier.

The report fit with other data showing world economic turmoil is taking a toll on American jobs, particularly at factories exporting goods to Asian nations mired in slumps. The unemployment rate, which hit a 28-year low of 4.3 percent in the spring, was 4.6 percent in October.

During the week ended Oct. 31, California, Texas, Washington, South Carolina and North Carolina led the list of states with significant increases in joblessness. They cited layoffs in agriculture and manufacturing, particularly at factories producing metal products, machinery, electrical equipment and rubber and plastic products.