ECONOMY

New Jobless Claims Hit 3-Year High: The number of American workers seeking jobless benefits for the first time neared a three-year high last week, leading some analysts to suggest that the economy is not improving as much as many had assumed. The Labor Department reported that first-time applications for unemployment insurance shot up by 18,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 417,000. Many analysts had expected an increase of only about 5,000. It was the highest level since 418,000 new claims were filed during the week of Sept. 19, 1992, and the first time claims have topped 400,000 since Jan. 29, 1994.