The number of U.S. initial claims for unemployment insurance for the week ended Feb. 20 rose by 22,000, or 4.6%, to 496,000 from the previous week's revised number of 474,000, the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.

CNNMoney reported that recent snow storms in the Northeast that put some people out of work caused a backlog at the Department of Labor. MarketWatch reported that economists had expected claims to fall to 460,000.

The four-week moving average of claims for the week ended Feb. 20 rose by 6,000, or 1.3%, to 473,750 from the previous week's revised average of 467,750.