Seasonally adjusted initial claims for U.S. unemployment benefits for the week ended Sept. 21 rose more than expected to 213,000, from the prior week's upwardly revised figure of 210,000, the U.S. Department of Labor said.
The reading exceeded the Econoday consensus estimate of 211,000.
The four-week moving average was 212,000, down from the previous week's upwardly revised reading of 212,750.
The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate, which determines the share of the labor force receiving unemployment benefits, edged down 0.1% to 1.1% in the week ended Sept. 14. Insured employment numbers fell 15,000 to 1,650,000 from the previous week's upwardly revised figure.
