Jobless Claims Up 17,000

Washington, DC, January 12, 2006–First-time claims for unemployment benefits rose by 17,000 to a seasonally adjusted 309,000 in the week ending Jan. 7, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Jobless claims had plunged to a revised 292,000 in the previous week, a 5-year low. The four-week average of new claims fell by 5,500 to 311,500, the lowest since early August, before hurricanes drove a million people from their homes.

The claims data are very volatile this time of year. The number of people receiving unemployment benefits, meanwhile, rose by 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 2.7 million in the week ending Dec. 31. The four-week average of continuing claims rose by 27,000 to 2.68 million.