Initial claims rise by 10,000, but remain low for recovery years WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- The U.S. Labor Department said Wednesday first-time jobless benefits claims rose by 10,000 in the week to 372,000 claims. The four-week rolling average for the week was 360,000, an increase of 250 from the previous week's revised average of 359,750. In the current week, the unadjusted advance number of first-time unemployment benefits claims under state programs totaled 495,588 for the week, an increase of 40,459 from the previous week, the Labor Department said.