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November 13, 2003 10:00 AM, EST

First-time claims for unemployment benefits rose 13,000 to 366,000 in the week ended Nov. 8 from a revised 353,000 the prior week, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Initial claims have now held below the 400,000 level that economists view as a divide between a deteriorating and improving jobs market for six straight weeks.

Labor also said the four-week moving average of claims, which smoothes volatility, dropped by 6,000 to 375,250, the lowest level since March 2001.

If people are feeling more confident about the job market and the economy, they are more likely to purchase goods, which would then increase the demand for trucking to restock store shelves.

However, the total number of unemployed workers who continued to draw benefits after filing an initial claim rose by 49,000 to 3.53 million in the week ended Nov. 1.

Economists expected claims to rise to 365,000, Bloomberg reported.

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