Initial Jobless Claims Jump by 38,000 for Week

Initial jobless claims jumped by 38,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Jobless claims rose to 407,000 for the week ended Saturday, Labor said. It was the highest level since September 2005, following Hurricane Katrina, Bloomberg reported.

Economists had forecast claims to remain unchanged, at 366,000, Bloomberg said.
 
The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, rose to 374,500, from 358,750.

The number of people continuing to collect unemployment benefits jumped by 97,000 for the previous week ended March 22, to 2.937 million, Labor said.