The number of people seeking unemployment benefits in the US rose by 22,000 to 496,000 for the week ended February 20.
Even though the pace of job losses has come down in recent months, the country's labor market continues to remain shaky.
"In the week ending February 20, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 496,000, an increase of 22,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 474,000," the US Labor Department said in a statement today.
The four-week moving average stood at 473,750.
Currently, the unemployment rate is around 10 per cent.
In the wake of the raging financial turmoil, many companies had resorted to massive layoffs, as part of their efforts to cut down on costs.
Meanwhile, the count of Americans receiving jobless benefits went up by 6,000 to 4,617,000 for the week ended February 13.
"The four-week moving average was 4,600,750, an increase of 4,250 from the preceding week's revised average of 4,596,500," the statement noted.
On Wednesday, the US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S Bernanke had said that the American job market remains weak.
