Jobless Claims Rise 9,000 for Week

Initial jobless claims rose by 9,000 to 334,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The less-volatile four-week moving average rose to 324,500 claims, from 318,250.

The drop was greater than economists’ forecasts of a 2,000 decline in new claims, Bloomberg reported.

The number of people continuing to collect benefits rose to 2.579 million — the highest since April — for the previous week ended Aug. 18, from 2.566 million a week earlier, Labor said.