...People seeking unemployment benefits increased by 78,000 to a seasonally adjusted 439,000 in the week ended Nov. 10, the Labor Department said Thursday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires expected 375,000 new applications for jobless benefits.
A Labor Department analyst said the storm was the cause of the increase because people were without work after schools were closed, factories were flooded and construction sites were stalled. The Labor Department will have more details next week about which sectors were most affected, the analyst said. State-level data are reported with a one week lag...