New Jobless Claims Hit Nine-Month High

Initial jobless claims filed last week hit the highest level since November, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The 12,000-claim increase to 500,000 for the week ended Saturday was higher than economists’ forecasts of 460,000 to 495,000 new claims, Bloomberg reported.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, rose to 482,500 claims, the highest level since December, from 474,500 the previous week.

Continuing claims for the previous week ended Aug. 7 fell by 13,000 to 4.48 million, from 4.49 million a week earlier.