Initial Jobless Claims Rise 11,000 in Latest Week

May 5, 2005 8:40 AM, EDT

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he number of U.S. workers filing for initial unemployment benefits rose by 11,000 in the week ended April 30, the second week of increases following three weeks of declines, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Jobless claims reached 333,000 claims, Labor said. That was higher than economists’ forecast of 323,000, Bloomberg reported.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, fell to 321,500, the lowest in four years, from 323,500.

The number of people filing continuing jobless claims rose to 2.59 million in the week ended April 23, from 2.55 million the previous week.