Initial Unemployment Claims Rise for Week

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he number of U.S. workers filing initial unemployment claims rose 17,000 last week to 309,000, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The increase led to a jobless level that was below the 315,000 predicted by economists, Bloomberg reported.

The four-week moving average of claims, a less volatile measure, fell to 311,500 from 317,000 a week earlier, Labor said.

Continuing jobless claims for the previous week ended Dec. 31 rose to 2.702 million, from 2.69 million a week prior to that.