U.S. Jobless Claims Rise 4,000 for Week

he number of U.S. workers filing for initial unemployment benefits rose by 4,000 the week ended May 7, the third week of increases following three weeks of declines, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Jobless claims reached 340,000 claims, Labor said. That was higher than economists’ forecast of a drop to 325,000, Bloomberg reported.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, rose to 324,000 from 322,000.

The four-week average of continuing claims fell to 2.59 million, the lowest since March 2001.