Jobless Claims Rise 7,000 for Week

Initial jobless claims rose 7,000 to 316,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The less-volatile four-week moving average rose to 307,750 claims, from 306.000.

Economists had forecast an increase to 310,000 claims, Bloomberg reported.

The number of people continuing to collect benefits rose to 2.559 million for the week ended July 28, from 2.52 million a week earlier, Labor said.