US jobless claims soar after Superstorm Sandy

In this Monday, Oct. 29, 2012, file photo, the floor of the New York Stock Exchange is empty of traders, as New York’s financial district braced for the onslaught of Hurricane Sandy, which froze commerce, shut down stock exchanges for the first time since 9/11 and idled millions of workers. AP PHOTO/RICHARD DREW

WASHINGTON—US weekly jobless claims jumped by 78,000 in one week in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, which both interrupted reporting and forced people out of work in the northeast, Labor Department data showed Thursday.

New claims for unemployment insurance, a signal of the pace of layoffs, rose to 439,000 in the week to November 10 from the previous week’s figure of 361,000.