A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose by more than expected in the week ended June 4th.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims climbed to 229,000, an increase of 27,000 from the previous week's revised level of 202,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 210,000 from the 200,000 originally reported for the previous week.
The report showed the less volatile four-week moving average also edged up to 215,000, an increase of 8,000 from the previous week's revised average of 207,000.
