Jobless Claims Jump to Six-Week High

Initial jobless claims rose by 32,000 last week to a six-week high, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Applications for jobless benefits for the week ended Saturday rose to 360,000, Labor said.

The initial claims figure was higher than economists’ forecast of 330,000, Bloomberg News reported.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, rose to 339,250 last week, from 338,000.

Continuing jobless claims for the previous week ended May 4 rose by 4,000 to 3.01 million.