Jobless Claims Rise 11,000 for Week

Initial jobless claims rose by 11,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Claims rose to 444,000, topping the 437,000 new claims forecast by economists, Bloomberg reported.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, fell to 440,750, from 449.750.

Continuing jobless claims for the previous week ended Jan. 2 fell by 211,000 to 4.6 million, Labor said.