|
Initial jobless claims soar
|
 |
December 31, 1998: 9:05 a.m. ET
Total of first-time unemployed jumps 79,000, or 27%, from prior week
|
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Initial U.S. jobless claims rose a sharp 27 percent in the week ended Dec. 26.
The U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday that initial claims for unemployment compensation climbed by 79,000 to 368,000 from a revised figure of 289,000 registered in the prior week.
First-time unemployment claims haven't been this high since the week ended July 4, when members of the United Auto Workers struck at General Motors Corp. and the initial claims figure hit 394,000.
The jobless data well exceeded estimates by analysts, who expected 305,000 new jobless claims to be filed for the week ended Dec. 26.
The four-week moving average, seen as a more accurate indicator of employment trends, also rose, moving up to 321,250 from a revised figure of 307,750 in the previous week.
And continuing claims increased as well, climbing to 2,228,000 in the week ended Dec. 19 from 2,211,000 a week earlier.
Soon after the jobless figures were released, the bond market got a small boost after a soft opening, with the benchmark 30-year U.S. Treasury bond trading up 2/32 for a yield of 5.08 percent. 
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
