After reporting a modest uptick in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the previous week, the Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing another slight increase in initial jobless claims in the week ended June 24th.
The report said initial jobless claims inched up to 244,000, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week's revised level of 242,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to edge down to 240,000 from the 241,000 originally reported for the previous week.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average fell to 242,250, a decrease of 2,750 from the previous week's revised average of 245,000.
The report also said continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, rose by 6,000 to 1.948 million in the week ended June 17th.
The four-week moving average of continuing claims climbed to 1,938,750, an increase of 7,250 from the previous week's revised average of 1,931,500.
Next Friday, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its more closely watched monthly report on the employment situation for June.
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