Jobless claims rose to their highest level since July 1992, and the four-week moving average also increased. However, the Associated Press reported the high level of jobless claims partly reflects growth in the labor force, which grew by approximately half since the early 1980s.

The advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims for the week ending Nov. 15 was 542,000, up 5.2% from the previous week's revised figure of 515,000, the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.

The four-week moving average of seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims rose 3.2% to 506,500 in the week ended Nov. 15 from the previous week's revised average of 490,750, according to the department.