First-time jobless claims up slightly

Initial unemployment benefits claims for last week were 366,000, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday. The four-week average declined by 5,000 to 363,750 from the previous week's revised average of 369,250, a revised figure. The advance number of unadjusted actual first-time jobless benefits claims under state programs totaled 315,776 for the week ending Saturday, a decrease of 4,443 from the previous week, the Labor Department said. There were 346,014 initial claims in the comparable week in 2011, the department's Employment and Training Administration said in a release.