WASHINGTON, July 29 (AFP) - The number of people lodging new claims for US unemployment benefits rose modestly last week, a government report showed Thursday.
The number of new claims climbed 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 345,000 in the week ended July 23, only partly reversing a drop of 9,000 the previous week, the Labor Department said.
A four-week average of new unemployment benefit claims, which smoothes out volatility in the weekly figures, fell 1,000 to 336,250.
In raw, unadjusted figures, initial unemployment benefit claims slumped 79,319 to 314,797 in the week. There were 348,382 claims in the same period last year.
The existing pool of claimants -- those making claims for at least two weeks -- rose by 174,000 people to 2.96 million in the week ended July 17, the latest date for which those numbers are available.
The figures are frequently volatile in mid-summer, when many car factories suspend work to retool equipment.