New claims for US unemployment insurance benefits headed higher last week after the previous week's drop, underscoring the continued frailty of the US jobs market, data showed Thursday.

As markets awaited a decision by the Federal Reserve to aid the weak economy, the Labor Department said that initial jobless claims rose to 382,000 for the period to September 8 from the previous week's 367,000.

That pushed the four-week moving average higher to 375,000, the department said.