Seasonally adjusted initial claims for U.S. unemployment benefits climbed to 214,000 in the week that ended Oct. 6 from the previous week's unrevised figure of 207,000, the U.S. Labor Department reported.

Econoday had predicted that claims would remain steady at 207,000.

The four-week moving average increased to 209,500 from the previous week's unrevised average of 207,000.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was unchanged at 1.2% in the week that ended Sept. 29 compared with the prior week. Insured unemployment during the week rose to 1,660,000 from the previous week's revised level of 1,656,000.