Jobless Claims Rise 12,000 to 465,000

Initial jobless claims unexpectedly rose last week by 12,000 last week.

Figures from the Department of Labor showed that claims rose to 465,000 in the week ending Sept. 18. The revised figure for the previous week was 453,000.

A survey of analysts by Reuters had forecast that claims would be unchanged at 450,000.

Weak consumer spending and high levels of debt have combined to slow the U.S. economic recovery, leaving employers reluctant to hire.

"The labor market is in a pretty soft position," Paul Dales, a U.S. economist at Capital Economics Ltd. told Bloomberg News before the report. "Private-sector employment is still growing but not anywhere near fast enough to bring down the unemployment rate."

The four-week moving average, a clearer measure of unemployment trends, fell 3,250 to 463,250, the Department of Labor said. The revised average for the previous week was 466,500.