Jobless benefit applications rise
New applications for unemployment benefits rose last week by the largest amount in two months, suggesting that layoffs are persisting and that employers are reluctant to hire. The increase of 11,000 first-time jobless claims, to a seasonally adjusted total of 335,000, followed a gain of 2,000 in the previous week, to 324,000, the Labor Department said yesterday.
In Maryland, the number of new claims for jobless benefits fell 15 percent, to 3,153, in the week that ended Sept. 11.
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