Initial Jobless Claims Grow for Week

Initial jobless claims increased by 51,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The gain to 454,000 was higher than analysts’ median forecast 405,000 new claims, Bloomberg reported.

Snow during the previous week created a backlog of claims that were not process until last week, Bloomberg siad.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, rose to 428,750, from 413,000.

Continuing claims for the previous week ended Jan. 15 grew by 94,000 from a week earlier, to 3.99 million.