Unemployed States of America......

U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Rose 10,000 to 455,000 Last Week

By Timothy R. Homan

Sept. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Initial jobless claims in the U.S. unexpectedly rose last week, led by a jump in Louisiana in the wake of Hurricane Gustav.

The number of Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment benefits increased by 10,000 to 455,000 in the week ended Sept. 13. The number of people staying on rolls fell to 3.478 million, down from a five-year high.

Mounting job losses this year threaten to stall consumer spending, which comprises more than two-thirds of the U.S. economy, in the second half of the year. The ongoing housing recession and a credit crunch that brought down Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. are also stifling growth.

``Labor market conditions are deteriorating, and they are bound to get worse over the next few months,'' Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics in Valhalla, New York, said before the report. ``Everything we know about the business cycle says companies must be shedding labor.''

Louisiana was able to report claims for the first time last week after government offices lost power during Hurricane Gustav two weeks earlier, a spokesman for the Labor Department said.

Economists had forecast claims would fall to 440,000 from a previously reported 445,000 in the prior week, according to the median of 38 projections in a Bloomberg News survey. Estimates ranged from 420,000 to 450,000.

Excluding Louisiana, claims would probably have fallen, the Labor spokesman said. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ayCgmGIWOkGg&refer=home