A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed a modest uptick in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended August 19th.
The report said initial jobless claims inched up to 234,000, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 232,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 238,000.
The modest increase came after initial jobless claims fell to their lowest level in nearly six months in the previous week.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average edged down to 237,750, a decrease of 2,750 from the previous week's unrevised average of 240,500.
Continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, were unchanged from the previous week at 1.954 million in the week ended August 12th.
The four-week moving average of continuing claims dipped to 1,957,750, a decrease of 2,750 from the previous week's revised average of 1,960,500.
Next Friday, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its more closely watched monthly employment report for September.
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