Initial unemployment claims increased by 4,000 to 229,000 in the week ending June 6, the highest total since early February, according to Labor Department data reported Thursday. May job gains totaled 172,000 while the three-month average reached 188,000 after the Iran war began in late February; the unemployment rate stood at 4.3 percent and job openings hit 7.6 million in April. All figures derive from two left-center sources.