The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits climbed by 15,000 to 6,27,000 for the week ended June 20, indicating that labour market recovery may take longer time than expected.
The latest figures from the US Labour Department today showed that the count of initial jobless claims rose to 6,27,000 from 6,12,000 in the previous week.
"In the week ending June 20, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 6,27,000, an increase of 15,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 6,12,000," the Labour Department said in a statement.
The four-week moving average of such claims was 6,17,250, an increase of 500 from the previous week's revised average of 6,16,750.
Meanwhile, the number of people receiving unemployment benefits rose by 29,000 to 67,38,000 for the week ended June 13.
"The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending June 13 was 67,38,000, an increase of 29,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 67,09,000," the statement noted.
Battered by the financial turmoil, many American companies have resorted to massive layoffs and the unemployment rate in the country was more than 9 per cent in May.
