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U.S. initial jobless claims increase to 313,000

Xinhua, February 27, 2015 Adjust font size:

The number of Americans initially applying for unemployment aid increased last week, while the job market remained upward.

In the week ending Feb. 21, the advance figure of seasonally adjusted initial claims for jobless benefits increased to 313,000, 31,000 more than the revised level of the previous week, the U.S. Labor Department said on Thursday.

There were no special factors impacting this week's initial claims, said the department.

Meanwhile, the four-week moving average, which helps smooth out week-to-week volatility, edged up by 11,500 to 294,500 last week. The advance figure of seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending Feb. 14 decreased 21,000 from the previous week to 2,401,000.

U.S. economy added more jobs than expected in January, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 5.7 percent, indicating the job market is on the pipeline of steady recovery, the Department of Labor said earlier this month. Endite