The number of U.S. initial claims for unemployment insurance for the week ended Jan. 2 rose by 1,000, or 0.2%, to 434,000 from the previous week's revised number of 433,000, the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.

The four-week moving average of claims for the week ended Jan. 2 fell by 10,250, or 2.2%, to 450,250 from the previous week's revised average of 460,500.