WASHINGTON: Americans filed more claims for US unemployment insurance benefits last week, pushing the number back above 300,000, according to Labor Department data released Thursday.
Initial jobless claims totaled 313,000 in the week ending February 21, an increase of 31,000 from the prior week's upwardly revised level.
The Labor Department said there were no special factors influencing the latest weekly claims number, an indicator of the pace of layoffs.
The four-week moving average of new claims, which helps to smooth out week-over-week volatility, rose by 11,500 to 294,500. A year ago the average was 338,000.
The claims average has trended lower as the labor market tightens, with strong job growth over the past year bringing the unemployment rate down to 5.7 percent in January.
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