The number of people in the US seeking unemployment benefits rose a slight 4,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 372,000.
This is evidence that the job market's recovery remains modest and uneven.
The Labor Department said today that the four-week average, a less volatile measure, increased 3,750 to 368,000.
Applications are a measure of the pace of layoffs. When they fall consistently below 375,000, it generally suggests hiring is strong enough to lower the unemployment rate.
Applications have risen for two weeks in a row, but they are still lower than they were five weeks ago. That suggests hiring could improve slightly this month.
The economy and job growth have been improving a bit after falling into a midyear slump, though neither is particularly strong.
One area of improvement has been the housing market, which is slowly but steadily recovering. Sales of previously occupied homes rose 2.3% in July from June, the National Association of Realtors said yesterday. Sales have jumped more than 10% in the past year.
Other recent reports have contributed to the picture of a healing industry. Home prices are rising nationwide and builders are growing increasingly confident because they are seeing more traffic from potential buyers.
An index of builder confidence rose to its highest level in five years in August. Builders responded by applying for the largest number of building permits in nearly four years last month. They broke ground on slightly fewer new homes in July than in June. But that was after the number of housing starts had reached a three and a half year high in June.
In another positive sign, Americans boosted their retail spending in July by the most in five months, the Commerce Department said last week.
Factory output rose in July for the second month in a row, according to a report today from the Federal Reserve. That raised hopes that manufacturers were recovering from a slowdown in the early summer. A jump in car production was a key reason for the increase.
Better growth also boosted hiring last month. Employers added 163,000 jobs in July, the most since February. Job gains averaged only 73,000 jobs a month from April through June, not enough to keep up with a rising population.
The unemployment rate rose to 8.3% from 8.2% in June. Most economists say stronger growth is needed to create enough jobs to lower unemployment. The economy grew at an annual rate of 1.5% from April to June, down from 2% in the first quarter and 4.1% in the fourth quarter of 2011.
