Initial Jobless Claims Rise by 20,000

Initial jobless claims rose by 20,000 last week to 339,000, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The less-volatile four-week moving average held at 330,000, Labor said.

Economists had forecast weekly claims would rise to 320,000, Bloomberg reported.

The number of people continuing to collect benefits fell to 2.568 million for the previous week ended Nov. 3, from 2.575 million the previous week.