Initial jobless claims climbed 8,000 to 339,000 in the week ended February 8, the Labor Department said Thursday.
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Claims for the week ended February 1 were unrevised at 331,000.
Continuing jobless claims were 2.953 million in the week ended February 1, down from the upwardly revised 2.971 million the week before, first reported as 2.964 million.
Economists polled by Thomson Reuters expected 330,000 initial and 2.960 million continuing claims.
The four-week average of initial claims rose 3,500 in the week ended February 8 to 336,750.
