Initial Jobless Claims Rise 26,000

Washington, DC, Dec. 2, 2010 -- Initial jobless claims for unemployment benefits rose 26,000 last week to 436,000, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday.

Economists had expected claims to rise to a seasonally adjusted 429,000 in the holiday-shortened week of Nov. 27.

Last's week's upwardly revised reading of 410,000 was still the lowest in more than two years.

The four-week average of initial claims, meanwhile, fell 5,750 to 431,000, the lowest level since August 2008.