The Labor Department reported Thursday that new applications filed for unemployment insurance rose by a seasonally adjusted 7,000 to 455,000 for the week ending Aug. 2. The increase left claims at their highest level since late March 2002.

A program to locate people eligible for jobless benefits played a role in the increase, a Labor Department analyst said. However, the analyst couldn't say how much of a role.

The latest snapshot of layoff filings was worse than analysts expected. They were forecasting new claims to drop to around 430,000.

The data disappointed Wall Street. Stocks opened sharply lower.

The new layoff filings were distorted by the outreach program to notify people that they could qualify for additional benefits under a new law.

When people went to state claims offices to apply for these extended benefits, state officials discovered that some were eligible for -- but haven't filed for -- their initial unemployment benefits, the Labor Department analyst said. That accounted for some of last week's increase, he said.

Meanwhile, the four-week moving average of claims, which smooths out weekly fluctuations, rose to 419,500 last week, the highest since mid-July 2003.