More bad news about American employment is making waves through the markets.

The U.S. Labor Department said this morning the number of workers filing first-time applications for unemployment benefits hit a five-week high last week. Analysts had been expecting a decline in claims. Instead, initial jobless claims surged by 16,000 to 442,000 last week. The four-week moving average, which smooths out weekly fluctuations, rose by 3,000 to 430,500 claims.

The numbers has had a weakening effect on the U.S. dollar and pushed the Canadian dollar past the US74¢ mark. It closed Wednesday at US73.66¢

Meanwhile, Statistics Canada is reporting that the value of building permits issued across the country edged up marginally in April. Construction intentions for new housing plunged to a 10-month low, but permits for non-residential projects rebounded sharply.

The cumulative value of permits issued in the first four months of the year reached a record high, thanks to torrid activity in January. From January to April, municipalities issued nearly $15.6 billion in permits, up 4.6% from the same period of 2002.

Wall Street futures are showing signs of weakening since the release of the jobless claims number, pointing to a weak opening for equities. In Europe the bourses are down. At midday in London, the FTSE 100 index was down 0.15%. Frankfurt’s DAX has fallen 0.67% and Paris’s CAC 40 is down 0.69%.

In Toyko, investors bought up issues of export-related companies. The Nikkei Stock Average finished the day up 99.37 points, or 1.16%, to 8,657.23. But Hong Kong fell due to profit- sending the Hang Seng Index down 23.81 points, or 0.25%, to 9,639.01.