More Americans than projected filed applications for unemployment benefits last week as California worked through a backlog caused by a switch in computer systems and the partial federal shutdown forced some government contractors to pare staff. Jobless claims surged by 66,000, the most since the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy in November, to 374,000 in the week ended Oct. 5, figures from the Labor Department showed today in Washington. The median forecast of 47 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a rise to 311,000. The issues in California accounted for about half the jump in applications last week and the dismissal of non-federal employees after Congress failed to compromise on a budget accounted for about another 15,000, a Labor Department spokesman said as the data was released to the press. The effects of the gridlock in Washington may keep claims elevated as employers grow concerned about the economic outlook. “The longer the government shutdown continues, the bigger the effect on the private sector will be,� Ryan Sweet, senior economist at Moody’s Analytics Inc. in West Chester, Pennsylvania, said before the report. He added that it will be hard to tell whether the layoffs are coming from contractors directly affected by the closings or by other companies with shaken confidence. Data Delayed While the claims data will continue to be released, the lapse in appropriations has delayed the Labor Department’s September employment report and other government data releases. Payrolls were expected to climb by 180,000 last month, based on the median forecast in a Bloomberg survey, from 169,000 in August. Any claims filed by furloughed federal workers will not show up in the figures in coming weeks, a Labor Department official said last week. They will be tallied in a separate category and will not influence the headline reading, though contractors’ furloughs will count. Economists’ estimates in the Bloomberg survey ranged from claims of 304,000 to 340,000. The previous week’s figure was unrevised at 308,000. To contact the reporters on this story: Jeanna Smialek in Washington at jsmialek1@bloomberg.net Shobhana Chandra in Washington at Schandra1@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Christopher Wellisz at cwellisz@bloomberg.net

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