After reporting unexpected decreases in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the two previous weeks, the Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing a rebound in initial jobless claims in the week ended September 23rd.
The report said initial jobless claims rose to 272,000, an increase of 12,000 from the previous week's revised level of 260,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 270,000 from the 259,000 originally reported for the previous week.
The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also climbed to 277,750, an increase of 9,000 from the previous week's unrevised average of 268,750.
With the increase, the four-week moving average rose to its highest level since reaching 277,750 in February of 2016.
Meanwhile, the report said continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, fell by 45,000 to 1.934 million in the week ended September 16th.
The four-week moving average of continuing claims also edged down to 1,949,750, a decrease of 2,750 from the previous week's revised average of 1,952,500.
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