The Labor Department says jobless claims increased by 32,000 to a seasonally adjusted 516,000. That is the highest total since just after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and second-highest since 1992.
Analysts expected claims to increase slightly to 484,000, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters.
The four-week average of claims, which smooths out fluctuations, rose by 13,250 to 491,000, the highest in over 17 years.
GEORGIA NUMBERS
The Georgia Department of Labor announced Thursday that 72,627 laid-off workers filed first-time claims for unemployment insurance benefits in October, an increase of 75 percent from October of 2007.
During the first 10 months of this year, 539,383 initial claims for unemployment insurance have been filed, an increase of 42.8 percent over the 377,792 initial claims filed during the same period last year.
The metropolitan areas with the highest percentage of increase in claims from October 2007 to this October are Dalton (160.2%), Brunswick (127.6%), and Athens (120.7%). The areas with the smallest increase in claims are Augusta (12.6%), Warner Robins (29.4%), and Hinesville (40.7%).
In Metro Gainesville, the increase was 106.1 percent.
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“For the third consecutive month, initial claims in Georgia have risen by more than 70 percent over the year,” Georgia Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond said.
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