Unemployment-benefit applications rise to 428,000 (by Jeffry Bartash)

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - New applications for unemployment compensation climbed 11,000 last week to 428,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. Initial claims from two weeks ago were revised up to 417,000 from an original reading of 414,000. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected new claims in the week ended Sept. 10 to climb to 418,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis. The average of new claims over the past four weeks, meanwhile, rose by 4,000 to 419,500. The number of Americans who continue to receive regular state unemployment checks fell by 12,000 to 3.73 million in the week ended Sept. 3. About 7.14 million people received some kind of state or federal benefit in the week of Aug. 27, down 25,033 from the prior week.