The first applications for unemployment insurance rose last week in a sign of ongoing struggles for the labor market.
New claims totaled 861,000, the highest level in a month and above the Dow Jones estimate of 773,000, the Department of Labor said Thursday.
Markets moved little on the news, with stocks ready to open on Wall Street.
However, the total for the week ending February 13 was only a slight increase from 848,000 a week ago. This number was revised from the 793,000 initially reported.
Continued claims declined again, dropping to below 4.5 million, a drop of 64,000. This data is one week behind the total number of claims for the first time.
Total benefit recipients fell by 1.3 million to 18.34 million, mainly due to falling claims related to the Covid-19 pandemic.
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