First-Time Jobless Claims Jump 44,000 for Week

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First-time U.S. jobless jumped last week by 44,000, the biggest increase since September 2005, the Labor Department said Thursday.The rise to 357,000 new claims was well above economists’ forecasts of 314,000, Bloomberg reported.The less-volatile four-week moving average rose to 326,250 from 308,750, Labor said.The number of people continuing to collect benefits rose to 2.56 million for the previous week ended Feb. 3, from 2.49 million a week earlier.