WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly showed a modest increase in the week ended June 8th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.
The report said initial jobless claims inched up to 222,000, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week's revised level of 219,000.
The uptick came as a surprise to economists, who had expected jobless claims to edge down to 216,000 from the 218,000 originally reported for the previous week.
Last Friday, the Labor Department released a separate report showing a substantial slowdown in the pace of job growth in the month of May.
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