ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø

May 12, 2005 9:00 AM, EDT

Click here to write a Letter to the Editor.

he number of U.S. workers filing for initial unemployment benefits rose by 4,000 the week ended May 7, the third week of increases following three weeks of declines, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Jobless claims reached 340,000 claims, Labor said. That was higher than economists’ forecast of a drop to 325,000, Bloomberg reported.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, rose to 324,000 from 322,000.

The number of people filing continuing jobless claims rose to 2.598 million the week ended April 30, from 2.583 million the previous week.

The four-week average of continuing claims fell to 2.59 million, the lowest since March 2001.