Jobless Claims Increase for Week

Initial jobless claims grew by 22,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Claims increased to 496,000, Bloomberg reported. Last week's claims revised to 474,000, up from the 473,000 originally reported.

Economists had forecast claims would fall to 460,000, Bloomberg said.

Continuing jobless claims for the previous week ended Feb. 13 rose 6,000 to 4.62 million. The unemployment rate among people eligible for benefits held at 3.5% in the week ended Feb. 13.