Thursday, May 22, 2003 | 9:47 a.m.
WASHINGTON -- U.S. initial applications for unemployment benefits rose last week, breaking a string of three straight declines, as tornadoes in the Midwest closed factories, government figures showed.
States received 428,000 new applications for unemployment insurance in the week that ended Saturday, up from 421,000 in the prior week, the Labor Department said.
Since early February weekly initial claims have exceeded 400,000, which some economists consider a sign of a weak labor market.
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