Jobless Claims Grow by 15,000

Initial jobless claims increased by 15,000 last week, the Labor Department reported Sept. 19.

Claims for the week ended Sept. 14 rose to 309,000 from a revised 294,000 the prior week.

The number of claims was below analysts’ median forecast of a rise to 330,000 claims, Bloomberg News reported.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, fell to 314,750, the lowest since October 2007.

Continuing jobless claims for the previous week ended Sept. 7 declined by 28,000 to 2.79 million.