US jobless claims increased by 4,000 from last week, according to government data released Thursday.
Seasonally adjusted initial claims for unemployment insurance in the week ending Janurary 5 rose to 371,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 367,000.
The current number of jobless claims is above the 364,000 estimated by analysts.
Claims, a sign of the pace of layoffs, trended in the 370,000 range for most of 2012.
The four-week moving average was 365,750, an increase of 6,750 from the previous week’s revised average of 359,000.