Labor Department

Labor Department: Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 309,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. , according to Reuters. That initially led to a sharp decline in new processed claims earlier this month, and a Labor Department analyst said the two states still appeared to be working through the backlog, which he said could take another week or two. WASHINGTON - The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits rose last week, but it was difficult to get a clear read on the labor market's health because a Labor Department analyst said two states appeared to be working through a backlog of unprocessed claims. Claims data have been thrown into disarray since an update in government computer systems in California and Nevada created a backlog in the processing of new claims two weeks ago. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.