Jobless Claims Rise 54,000 for Week

Initial jobless claims rose last week by 54,000 claims, to 524,000 for the week ended Saturday, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The level was higher than analysts’ forecasts of 503,000 new claims, Bloomberg reported.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, fell to 518,500 from 526,500 a week earlier, Labor said.

The number of people on continuing claims fell to 4.617 million for the previous week ended Jan. 3, from 4.612 million the prior week, Labor said.