Jobless Claims Rise 4,000 for Week

Initial jobless claims rose by 4,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Claims increased to 372,000 for the week ended Saturday, slightly above economists’ forecasts of 370,000 claims, Bloomberg reported.
 
The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, fell to 370,500, from 373,000.
 
The number of people continuing to collect unemployment benefits rose to 3.104 million for the previous week ended May 17, the highest level since February 2004.