Initial Jobless Claims Rise for First Time in Three Weeks

Initial jobless claims rose by 20,000 last week, the first rise in three weeks, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Applications for jobless benefits for the week ended Saturday rose to 362,000, Labor said.

The initial claims figure was lower than economists’ forecast of 355,000, Bloomberg News reported.

The four-week moving average, a less-volatile measure, rose to 360,750 last week from 352,750.

Continuing jobless claims for the previous week ended Feb. 9 rose by 11,000 to 3.15 million.