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Initial jobless claims increased by 2,000 last week to 414,000, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Economists had forecast a decline to 405,000, Bloomberg reported.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, climbed to 414,750, from 411,000.

Continuing jobless claims for the previous week ended Aug. 27 fell by 30,000 to 3.72 million, Labor said.