
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, January 6, 1995                   TAG: 9501060079
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                  LENGTH: Short

JOBLESS CLAIMS LEAP; VA. RISE 2ND HIGHEST

The number of Americans filing new claims for state unemployment benefits jumped last week to the highest level in nearly six months, but analysts said the surge was caused by a seasonal quirk.

``We have had volatile behavior before toward the end of year,'' explained economist Robert G. Dederick of the Northern Trust Co. in Chicago. ``I view this as a seasonal fluke that probably will be reversed.''

The Labor Department said Thursday that new applications for jobless insurance rose 14,000 to a seasonally adjusted 335,000 during the week ended Dec. 31, highest since 390,000 in the week ended July 16. The increase was the largest since the week ended July 16, when they surged 25,000.

Virginia registered the second-largest increase, after Kentucky - 4,457 new claims.

The closely watched four-week moving average of claims totaled 326,000, up from 323,250 in the period ended Dec. 24. That was the highest since the average was 327,250 in the four-week period ended Nov. 19.

- Associated Press

by CNB