Initial Jobless Claims Rise by 16,000 for Week

Initial jobless claims rose by 16,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Applications for jobless benefits for the week ended Saturday rose to 376,000, Labor said.

The initial claims figure was higher than economists’ forecast of 340,000, Bloomberg News reported.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, rose to 343,000 last week, from a five-year low of 340,750.

Continuing jobless claims for the previous week ended March 16 fell by 27,000 to 3.05 million.