Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 69,000 in the week ended Jan. 26, reaching 375,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. It marked the highest level since early October -- and the biggest weekly jump since September 2005 in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Before this sharp rise, jobless claims had fallen by a net of 51,000 since late December, confounding economists who had expected claims to gradually rise as the nation's economy slowed.

Analysts had been expecting an increase, but nothing nearly as large as last week's gain: The consensus forecast as compiled by MarketWatch had called for claims to rise to about 320,000.