New claims for jobless benefits surged last week, according to a Thursday report by the U.S. Department of Labor. The Labor Department reported that claims rose 5,000 to a seasonally-adjusted 417,000, much higher than the drop of 3,000 that economists had been predicting. Verizon workers who were on strike filed 8,500 claims for jobless benefits last week, after submitting 12,500 applications the previous week, which covered the period for the August nonfarm payrolls survey. The numbers suggest that the strike would have a negative effect on the payrolls count, which will be reported on September 2. The strike against Verizon has ended. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims rising to 405,000 last week. The prior week's claims were revised up to 412,000 from the previously reported 408,000. Employers added 117,000 new jobs in July after increasing payrolls by only 99,000 in May and June combined. The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends, rose 4,000 to 407,500. The number of people still receiving benefits under regular state programs after an initial week of aid fell 80,000 to 3.64 million in the week ended August 13. The unemployment rate fell to 9.1 percent from 9.2 percent in June. The number of Americans on emergency unemployment benefits fell 43,827 to 3.09 million in the week ended August 6, the latest week for which data is available. A total of 7.29 million people were claiming unemployment benefits during that period under all programs, down from 45,989 from the prior week.
