Filings for jobless claims rose to a seasonally adjusted 230,000 last week, an increase of 23,000, as a tight U.S. labor market has kept applications near pre-pandemic lows for the past two months.
The increase in the Jan. 8 week came as employers dealt with workers calling in sick because of the Omicron variant of Covid-19. The four-week moving average for last week edged higher, the Labor Department said Thursday, to 210,750.