91ÊÓƵ

Initial jobless claims rose by 6,000 last week to 401,000, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Economists had forecast an increase to 410,000, Bloomberg reported.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, declined to 414,000, from 418,000.

Continuing jobless claims for the previous week ended Sept. 24 fell by 52,000 to 3.7 million, Labor said.