Jobless Claims Climb for Week

Initial jobless claims grew by 31,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Claims increased to 473,000, Bloomberg reported. Last week's claims revised to 442,000, up from the 440,000 originally reported, which was the lowest level in five weeks.

Economists had forecast claims would fall to 438,000, Bloomberg said.

Continuing jobless claims for the previous week ended Feb. 6 held at 4.56 million. The number of people who have exhausted traditional benefits and are on extended payments rose by 274,500 in the week ended Jan. 30.

The unemployment rate among people eligible for benefits held at 3.5% in the week ended Feb. 6.