In the week through Sept. 28, there were 225,000 initial jobless claims, compared economists expectations of 220,000 initial claims.

The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits rose marginally last week, but Hurricane Helene's rampage in the U.S. Southeast and strikes at Boeing and ports could distort the labor market picture in the near term.

The Labor Department reported on Thursday that jobless claims increased by 6,000 to 225,000 for the week ending September 28.