New Jobless Claims At Highest Level In Two Years
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New unemployment claims climbed to the highest level in two years last week because of Hurricane Katrina, while a gauge that predicts the economy turned down before the devastating storm.
Initial claims for jobless benefits rose 8,000 to 432,000, after seasonal adjustments, in the week that ended September 17, the Labor Department said yesterday.
Wall Street had expected a level of 450,000. Nevertheless, it was the highest level of new claims since the week ended July 5,2003, when 437,000 initial applications for unemployment compensation were made.
Meanwhile, Delta Air Lines said it plans to slash up to 9,000 jobs, reduce wages for remaining employees, and accelerate changes to its route network as part of its plan to restructure under bankruptcy court protection.
And Sony unveiled a new restructuring plan yesterday under which it will eliminate 10,000 jobs by early 2008 and cut costs by $1.8 billion to try to bolster its ailing electronics operations.
