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Jobless claims leap
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May 4, 2000: 8:53 a.m. ET
First-time unemployment claims top 300,000, highest since February
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose to 303,000 for the week ended April 29 from 283,000 the prior week, the U.S. Department of Labor said Thursday.
A weekly reading below 300,000 indicates a tight labor market.
 The four-week moving average of claims, which generally provides a more accurate picture of jobless trends, rose to 277,500 for the week ended April 29 from a revised 267,250 in the prior week.
Continued claims rose to 2,007,000 for the April 22 week, the latest data available, from the revised 1,910,000 reported the previous week.
Massachusetts, California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Wisconsin and Rhode Island reported increases in claims of more than 1,000 in the week ended April 22, the latest period for which the data are available.
New Jersey and Wisconsin blamed layoffs in their manufacturing, construction, and transportation industries. Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and California had no comment. 
-- Compiled by Tatiana D. Helenius
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