U.S. jobless claims jump on Katrina effect

WASHINGTON, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- The U.S. Labor Department confirmed Thursday that Hurricane Katrina caused a huge jump in first-time jobless claims.

Weekly initial jobless claims for the week ending Sept. 10 rose to 398,000 -- far more than the 355,000 that had been estimated before Katrina hit, officials said.

The department also said that, for the week ending Sept. 3, the largest increases in initial claims for state unemployment benefits were in Louisiana, Texas and Alabama.