According to Labor Department figures released on Thursday, more Americans than anticipated last week filed for jobless benefits.

Initial jobless claims that were seasonally adjusted for the week that ended on March 25 increased to 198,000 from an unrevised number of 191,000 the previous week. According to economists' predictions, the number would increase to 196,000.

The claims four-week moving average jumped by 2,000 to 198,250, the highest number in ten weeks, in an effort to take into consideration the data set's volatility.

The number of continuing claims increased somewhat to 1.689 million from a previously reported figure of 1.685 million. The figure was predicted to be 1.697 million.

Jerome Powell, the head of the Federal Reserve, stated last week that policymakers will closely monitor U.S. jobs data in the hopes that a potential thawing of the labor market may aid in bringing down high inflation.

The Fed increased borrowing prices at its most recent meeting by 25 basis points, bringing them to their current range of between 4.75% and 5.00%.

According to official statistics from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the rate of U.S. economic growth in the fourth quarter of 2022 was revised downward to 2.6%. It indicated a deceleration from the 3.2% gain seen in the previous three months.