US jobless claims jump to 500,000; nine-month high

WASHINGTON: The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits jumped unexpectedly to the sensitive 500,000 level last week, the highest in nine months, the government said Thursday.

Initial claims were well above most economists' expectations of 475,000, climbing to the psychological half-million mark in the week to August 14 from the previous week's revised figure of 488,000.