Jobless Claims Rise For Third Straight Week

WASHINGTON (Reuters)—The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits increased last week for the third straight week, which could raise concerns that the labor market was softening.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 11,000 to a seasonally adjusted 362,000 for the week ended Sept. 25, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 335,000 applications for the latest week.

Claims have been rising, with economists blaming a range of factors including wild fires in California and Hurricane Ida, which struck the Gulf Coast in late August and caused record flooding in New York and New Jersey in early September.

The persistent increase also suggests a resurgence in COVID-19 infections, driven by the Delta variant of the coronavirus, could be impacting the labor market.