WASHINGTON – The government reports that the number of newly laid off people filing claims for unemployment benefits bolted past 400,000 last week as companies trimmed their work forces to cope with a slowing economy.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that these new applications rose by 34,000 to 406,000 for the week ending July 19.

That matches the level seen in late March. The last time claims were higher was after the devastation of the Gulf Coast hurricanes in mid-September 2005. Then, they spiked to 425,000.