(RTTNews) - According to a report by the Labor Department, first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits increased more than expected in the week ended January 20th. The department stated that initial jobless claims rose to 214,000, a surge of 25,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 189,000. Experts projected initial jobless claims to climb to 200,000 from the previous week’s originally reported figure of 187,000. Concurrently, the report stated that the less unstable four-week moving average decreased slightly to 202,250, a decline of 1,500 from the prior week’s revised average of 203,750.