Jobless Claims Rise to 336,000

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he number of U.S. workers filing for initial unemployment benefits rose 16,000 to 336,000 for the week ended July 9, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

The drop exceeded analysts’ forecasts of 322,000, Bloomberg reported.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, rose slightly to 320,750 from 320,500.

The number of people filing continuing jobless claims rose to 2.617 million the week ended July 2, from 2.572 million the previous week, Labor said.