First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits saw a modest increase in the week ended March 19th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.
The report said initial jobless claims edged up to 265,000, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week's downwardly revised level of 259,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 268,000 from the 265,000 originally reported for the previous week.
The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also ticked up to 259,750, an increase of 250 from the previous week's revised average of 259,500.
Meanwhile, the report said continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, fell by 39,000 to 2.179 million in the week ended March 12th.
The four-week moving average of continuing claims also dropped to 2,206,500, a decrease of 13,500 from the previous week's revised average of 2,220,000.
Next Friday, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its more closely watched monthly employment report for March.
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