The number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims rose 6,000 last week to 214,000, according to the US Labor Department data released on Thursday.
The figure exceeded market expectations of 211,000 for last week, following the previous week’s upwardly revised 208,000.
The four-week moving average was 210,750 — an increase of 750 from the previous week’s upwardly revised 210,000.
The US economy added 178,000 jobs in March, much higher than expectations of a 65,000 gain.
The unemployment rate fell to 4.3% in March from 4.4% in February.