Hurricanes cause unemployment claims to spike

Manufacturing News, Source : TheManufacturer.com
Published : 23 Sep 2004 15:33

In the wake of recent hurricanes hitting the southern United States, first-time unemployment filings again jumped sharply by 14,000, to 350,000, for the week ending September 18, the US Department of Labor reported today.

In Florida, which felt the brunt of the hurricane damage, there was a combined total of 3,808 claims filed as a direct result of Hurricanes Charley and Frances for the previous week ending September 11. Texas, Michigan and Wisconsin reported a drop in manufacturing-sector layoffs that week. North Carolina reported a rise in manufacturing layoffs for the same period.

The current overall unemployment rate is 5.4 percent, reported earlier this month by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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