Unemployment Claims Rise to 26-Year High

First-time unemployment claims fell but continuing claims rose to a 26-year high last week, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Initial jobless claims fell by 21,000 to 509,000 for the week ended Saturday, Labor said.

The level was less than analysts’ forecasts of 540,000 claims for the week, Bloomberg reported.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, rose to 524,250, from 518,250.
 
The number of continuing claims rose to 4.09 million for the previous week ended Nov. 22, the most since December 1982.