By Paul Kiernan and Harriet Torry

WASHINGTON--The number of Americans filing applications for new unemployment benefits rose last week, a possible sign that trade disputes and slowing global growth are starting to affect the domestic economy.

Initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs across the U.S., were a seasonally adjusted 227,000 in the week ended June 22, up 10,000 from the week before, the Labor Department said Thursday. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expected 219,000 new claims last week.

Jobless claims can be volatile from week to week. The four-week moving average of claims, a steadier measure, increased 2,250 to 221,250.

Claims have remained near historic lows in recent months amid continued hiring by businesses and low unemployment. The tight labor market remains a relative bright spot in an economic outlook that has become increasingly clouded by uncertainty surrounding the Trump administration's trade policies and other factors.

Thursday's report also showed the number of claims workers made for longer than a week increasing 22,000 in the week ended June 15 to 1,688,000. The figure, also known as continuing claims, is reported with a one-week lag.

The Labor Department report on jobless claims can be accessed at: http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/ui/current.htm.

-Write to Paul Kiernan at paul.kiernan@wsj.com and Harriet Torry at harriet.torry@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 27, 2019 08:45 ET (12:45 GMT)

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