U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Show Modest Increase

First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits saw a modest increase in the week ended October 12th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.

The report said initial jobless claims edged up to 214,000, an increase of 4,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 210,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 215,000.

The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also crept up to 214,750, an increase of 1,000 from the previous week's unrevised average of 213,750.

Meanwhile, the report said continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, fell by 10,000 to 1.679 million in the week ended October 5th.

The four-week moving average of continuing claims still rose to 1,669,750, an increase of 3,500 from the previous week's revised average of 1,666,250.