WASHINGTON — First-time claims for US unemployment benefits rose by 6,000 to 401,000 in the week ended Oct. 1, the Labor Department reported Thursday, rising above the key 400,000 threshold.
Wall Street economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast that initial claims would rise to 410,000.
The four-week average, a more reliable indicator of the labor market’s recent performance, fell 4,000 to 414,000, the department said.
Claims in the previous week were revised to a decrease of 33,000 to 395,00, compared with an initially-reported drop of 37,000 to 391,000.
A Labor Department official said there were no special factors affecting the weekly data.
When the US economy creates many new jobs, new applications for unemployment benefits usually drop well below 400,000 for a prolonged period.
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