Jobless Claims Rise for Week

Initial jobless claims increased by 25,000 last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

New claims grew to 429,000 for the week ended Saturday, the highest level since late January. Economists forecast of a drop to 395,000 claims from the previous reported 403,000 the week before.

The four-week moving average of new claims, a less volatile measure, rose to 408,500.

Continuing claims for the previous week ended April 16 fell by 68,000 from a week earlier, to 3.64 million.