For the week ending Jan. 22, the seasonally adjusted figure of initial claims for unemployment insurance rose to 325,000, an increase of 7,000 claims from the previous week's revised figure of 318,000, the U.S. Labor Department reported on Jan. 27.
Generally, economists had expected last week's initial claims to rise to about 330,000.
The department's four-week moving average for initial claims also rose last week, by 1,000 claims to 341,750. Many economists consider the moving average to be a better indicator of underlying labor market conditions because it smooths out week-to-week changes.
