NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The number of people filing for jobless benefits increased last week, a government report showed Monday, as the closely watched reading on the labor market came in above Wall Street expectations.
The Labor Department report showed 350,000 initial jobless claims filed in the week ended Sept. 18. That's up from the revised 336,000 filed the previous week. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had a consensus forecast of 338,000 claims for the latest week.
"The increase is mostly hurricane-related," a department spokesman said. "It can be related to the recent hurricanes in Florida."
The claims data have been whipsawed in recent weeks by the impact of repeated hurricanes that have lashed Florida and other Southeastern states. A department spokesman said last week's claims number primarily reflected hurricanes Charley and Frances and that Hurricane Ivan, which struck a week ago and caused widespread damage, has yet to make its presence felt on claims.
A four-week moving average of initial claims, which smoothes out short-term volatility, edged up to 341,000 from 339,000 -- still a level that economists associate with moderate hiring.
The number of people who remained on state unemployment rolls after claiming an initial week of jobless claims edged up to 2.88 million.
-- Reuters contributed to this report
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