WASHINGTON: Initial claims for US unemployment insurance benefits jumped last week after trending low for several weeks, but remained within trend and continued to suggest a tightening labor market.

The number of jobless claims, a sign of the pace of layoffs, was still at a low 302,000 for the week to July 26, up 23,000 from the previous period.

The four-week moving average showed how the jobs market has improved: it was at 297,250, the lowest level since April 2006, before the US economic crisis.

Analysts said the new claims data did not change their view that Friday's official jobs market and unemployment report for July would show a gain of more than 200,000 net new jobs, with the jobless rate holding at 6.1 percent.