JOBLESS REPORT

Initial jobless claims fall 13,000 to 432,000 New extended federal program sees 1.28 million filing for benefits By Rex Nutting, MarketWatch Last update: 8:33 a.m. EDT Aug. 21, 2008 WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The number of new claims for state unemployment benefits fell by 13,000 to 432,000 last week, and the number of claims under a new extended federal program rose by 714,000 to 1.28 million, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The new federal program just underway allows unemployed workers who've exhausted the typical 26-weeks of eligibility for state benefits to get an additional 13 weeks of federal relief. The new federal program has skewed new claims for state benefits higher in recent weeks, as some of those filing for the federal program instead found they still were eligible for state benefits. The government does not know how many of the 432,000 new state claims were due to the publicity about the federal program.