First-time filings for unemployment insurance jumped last week in a sign of continuing strife for the labor market.
New claims totaled 861,000, the highest level in a month and above the Dow Jones estimate of 773,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
Markets moved little on the news, with stocks opening lower on Wall Street.
The total for the week ended Feb. 13 marked only a slight uptick from the 848,000 a week earlier. That number was revised up from the initially reported 793,000.
