Hurricane-related jobless claims fall in the US

Hurricane-related jobless claims fall in the US

WASHINGTON - The number of claimants who filed for unemployment benefits in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita last week rose by 40,000 taking the total number of people who lost their jobs as a result of the twin hurricanes to 478,000.

The Labor Department announced on Thursday that the number of claimants was down by 35,000 on the 75,000 who had claimed benefits a couple of weeks ago. This data could be a signal that the number of people who lost out on their jobs as a result of the hurricanes might finally be coming under control. However, the total number of Americans claiming unemployment benefits for whatever reason hit the 2.89 million mark.

More Info

This is the highest level over the last 12 months. "We are starting to see hurricane-related claims drop off, and more important for the economic outlook, jobless claims excluding the hurricane effects remain low," said Dean Maki, chief U.S. economist at Barclays Capital Inc. in New York. He was of the opinion that the labor market weakness was not spreading from the hurricane- affected areas to other areas of the country.

The total claims citing the hurricane effect reached 355,000 in the week ending October 15. This was significantly less than the 390,000 claims filed in the previous week, the Labor Department said. Despite the soaring fuel prices due to the forced closure of Gulf Coast refineries and oil platforms, the jobless market seems to be under control. "In the aftermath of Katrina, the effect on the labor market from the fallout has been limited," said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial in Chicago. She added that the U.S. economy was "more than strong enough to absorb the blows of Katrina. The labor market is still pretty resilient."