Initial claims for U.S. unemployment benefits came in at 234,000 in the week that ended May 19, an increase of 11,000 from the previous week's revised level of 223,000, the U.S. Department of Labor said.
The four-week moving average rose 6,250 to 219,750 from the previous week's revised average of 213,500.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was unchanged at 1.2% for the week that ended May 12. Insured unemployment during that week rose 29,000 to 1,741,000 from the previous week's revised level of 1,712,000.
