First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits edged slightly higher in the week ended July 26th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.
The report said initial jobless claims crept up to 218,000, an increase of 1,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 217,000.
The uptick came after jobless claims edged down to their lowest level in over three months in the previous week.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average slipped to 221,000, a decrease of 3,500 from the previous week's unrevised average of 224,500.
The report also said continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, came in unchanged from the previous week's revised level at 1.946 million in the week ended July 18th.
The four-week moving average of continuing claims edged down to 1,949,250, a decrease of 2,500 from the previous week's revised average of 1,951,750.