Initial jobless claims rose last week, increasing by 5,000 filings for a total of 417,000 claims on a seasonally adjusted basis. That is up from the previous week’s revised figure of 403,500 claims. The Labor Department noted the numbers for the week ending Aug. 20 were impacted by 8,500 claims stemming from a labor dispute between the Communications Workers of America and Verizon Communications. Meanwhile, the advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate hit 2.9% for the week ending Aug. 13, a slight decrease from the previous week’s revised rate of 3%. Despite recent volatility in the stock market, analysts with Econoday said Thursday the markets “are showing little reaction to the report, which outside of the Verizon strike, points to mildly improving conditions in the labor market.” Write to: Kerri Panchuk.