Jobless Claims Gain for Week

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

Claims increased to 317,000, Labor said.

The less-volatile four-week moving average rose to 312,750 from 312,250 claims, Labor said.

Economists had forecast weekly claims to rise to 310,000, Bloomberg reported.

The number of people continuing to collect benefits fell to 2.541 million for the previous week ended Sept. 22, from 2.551 million the previous week.