By Sarah Chaney and Paul Kiernan 
 

The number of Americans applying for first-time unemployment benefits held steady at a near five-month high last week, the Labor Department said Thursday. Here are the report's key takeaways:

--Initial jobless claims were unchanged at 227,000 in the week ending Nov. 16. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expected jobless claims to clock in at 217,000.

--Claims are historically low but have moved up in recent weeks. This rise could reflect seasonal volatility around the Veterans Day and Thanksgiving holidays. But it could also be an early indication that the labor market is cooling as the broader U.S. economy slows.

--The four-week moving average for claims increased by 3,500 to 221,000, the highest such average since June.

--Continuing claims, those filed by workers unemployed for longer than a week, rose by 3,000 to 1.695 million in the week ending Nov. 9.

Write to Sarah Chaney at sarah.chaney@wsj.com and Paul Kiernan at paul.kiernan@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 21, 2019 08:45 ET (13:45 GMT)

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