Unemployment Insurance Claims Still Rising

May 3, 2001 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The seasonally adjusted advance figure for initial unemployment benefits claims for the week ending April 28 was 421,000, climbing 9,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 412,000.

The closely watched, four-week moving average increased by 9,250 to 404,500, from the previous week’s revised average of 395,250.

Stock markets were weak today following the release of these figures by the Department of Labor, with technology stocks retreating after recent gains as fears of recession came to the fore.

The data comes before Friday’s release of the April unemployment figure which economists expect to be higher than the 4.3% level in March.

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