The Labor Department said the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose sharply last week.
The increase of a seasonally adjusted 30,000 claims puts the total at 335,000, the highest since the middle of last month.
Hurricane-related job losses are put at 21,000. That's well below the peak seen in September. The increase puts the total number of claims related to Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma at 582,000.
The four-week moving average, used to monitor longer-term trends in the job market, rose by 1,250 last week to more than 323,000.
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