Initial Jobless Claims Rise

Initial jobless claims increased last week after the previous week’s one-year low, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

Claims rose by 17,000 to 474,000 for the week ended Saturday, Labor said.

Economists had forecast the rate to drop to 455,000, Bloomberg reported.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, fell to 473,750, the lowest number in a year, from 481,500 the previous week.

Continuing jobless claims for the previous week ended Nov. 28 fell 303,000 to 5.16 million, Labor said.