Jobless Claims Rise to 462,000, Higher Than Forecast

Initial jobless claims unexpectedly rose 13,000 to 462,000 in the week ending Oct. 9. The revised figure for the previous week was 449,000.

Economists surveyed by Reuters forecast claims of about 445,000.

A sluggish economic recovery and pessimism about future growth mean employers are reluctant to start hiring, keeping unemployment stubbornly high.

"The real problem is a lack of job growth," Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James & Associates, told Bloomberg News before the report. "The good news is we're not seeing the level of layoffs that would be consistent with a double-dip recession. The bad news is we really could be a lot stronger at this point and that's going to take some time."

The four-week moving average, a clearer measure of unemployment trends, rose 2,250 to 459,000 the Department of Labor said. The revised average for the previous week was 456,750.