Unemployment claims rise sharply

The U.S. Department of Labor today reported that the number of U.S. unemployment benefit claims totaled 350,000 last week, an increase of 25,000 claims over the previous week and the largest weekly increase in 14 months. The increase was attributed to temporary layoffs in the auto industry.

In other employment news, the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. today issued a report that said planned layoffs in the U.S. jumped 42 percent in May from April. According to the report, the increase was led by heavy job cuts in the computer industry that resulted from slow growth in the European economy.