More Americans filed unemployment claims last week, but the labor market remains healthy and there are still relatively few layoffs.
U.S. applications for jobless benefits rose by 11,000 to 219,000 for the week ending February 1, the Labor Department said Thursday. Analysts were projecting only 213,000 new applications.
Weekly applications for jobless benefits are considered representative of layoffs.
The four-week average, which softens some of the weekly volatility, rose by 4,000 to 216,750.
The total number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits for the week of January 25 climbed to 1.89 million, an increase of 36,000 from the previous week.