Unemployment claims rise in week

WASHINGTON, April 17 (UPI) -- First-time claims for unemployment insurance rose in the week ending April 12 after a week of declines, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday.

The department said 17,000 more claims were filed from the previous week's revised figure of 355,000 claims.

The 372,000 unemployment claims for the week brings the four-week average to 3760,000, a slight decline -- down 750 -- from the previous four-week average.

The U.S. unemployment rate remains unchanged at 5.1 percent.