Initial Jobless Claims Rise for Week

Initial jobless claims jumped by 32,000 last week to 493,000, the highest since September 2001, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Economists had forecast a decline to 450,000, Bloomberg reported.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, rose to 462,500 from 446,500.

The number of continuing claims rose to 3.542 million for the previous week ended Sept. 13, the highest level in five years, Labor said.