Jobless Claims Increase Dramatically

ByJohn S. McClenahen Suggesting that the U.S. labor market remains something less than vibrant, initial claims for unemployment insurance rose by 25,000 last week to 349,000, the U.S. Labor Department reported on Dec. 2. The previous week's unusually low 323,000 was revised upward by 1,000. The department's four-week moving average of initial jobless claims, which smoothes out week-to-week changes, also rose last week. It increased by 4,250 claims to 336,500.