Job losses related to the Gulf Coast hurricanes climbed to 521,400 last week with layoffs from Hurricane Wilma showing up for the first time, the government reported Thursday.
The Labor Department counted an additional 18,000 layoffs linked to hurricanes Katrina and Rita and 1,400 layoffs tied to Hurricane Wilma, which hit south Florida on Oct. 24. The total of 19,400 storm-related claims was the smallest weekly increase in the nine weeks the government has been tracking the damage the hurricanes have done to the nation’s labor market.
