Jobless Claims Rise More Than Forecast

Initial jobless claims rose more than forecast as the labor market struggles to add more jobs.

Initial jobless claims by 20,000 to 457,000 in the week ending Oct.30, The Department of Labor said. The revised figure for the previous week was 437,000.

A survey of analysts by Reuters forecast claims rising to 443,000 from the previously reported 434,000.

Unemployment has remained stubbornly high throughout 2010, with employers reluctant to take on new staff in a weak economy.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve announced plans to pump hundreds of billions of dollars into the economy through asset purchases in a bid to boost growth. The Fed called economic progress "disappointingly slow."

"The labor market is still very weak," Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist at Maria Fiorini Ramirez told Bloomberg News before the report. "Things will probably improve very gradually, but really painfully."

The four-week moving average, a clearer measure of unemployment trends, rose 2,000 to 456,000. The revised average for the previous week was 454,000.