Initial claims for U.S. jobless benefits rose by a slightly greater-than-expected 17,000 last week, the government said Thursday, while the number of people who have been on the jobless rolls for more than a week dropped to its lowest level since mid-November.
First-time claims, an early reading on the resilience of the job market, rose to 333,000 in the week ended Dec. 18, up from a revised 316,000 in the prior week. The previous week's level was the lowest since 309,000 in the July 3 week.
The weekly data exceeded Wall Street economists' forecast for 330,000 claims.
A Labor Department spokesman said there were no special factors behind the rise, but noted that initial claims data are more volatile during the holiday season.
The closely watched four-week moving average, a better gauge of jobless trends than the more-volatile weekly figures, rose to 340,000, up from 337,750 in the prior week.
The number of people who already qualify for a week of benefits and remain on the jobless rolls, fell for the second straight week, dropping to 2.72 million in the week ended Dec. 11, the latest week for which data are available, and the lowest since Nov. 20.