NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits climbed to the highest level in over two years last week, topping the 400,000 mark, the government said Thursday, citing the effects of Hurricane Katrina.

New claims for state unemployment benefits rose to 432,000 in the week ended Sept. 17 from an upwardly revised reading of 424,000 the week before, the Labor Department said.

The seasonally adjusted figure was the highest since the week ended July 5, 2003, when new jobless claims reached 437,000.

While the number rose, it actually came in below Wall Street forecasts. Analysts polled by Briefing.com had expected 450,000 jobless claims.

The department said jobless claims related to the storm, which slammed into the Gulf Coast in late August, totaled 103,000 last week and 91,000 the week before.

The four-week moving average of new claims, which economists prefer to use as a gauge of layoffs because it smoothes weekly volatility, was 376,250, up from the previous week's revised 347,250, the department said.

Separately, an index meant to forecast the economy's direction in the coming months was slipping even before the impact of Hurricane Katrina. (Full story).

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