WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose last week, the Labor Department said on Thursday, but details of the report suggested that the jobs market was continuing to grow at a moderate pace.

Other data suggested that the economy remained on a steady growth path, with sales at wholesalers rising by the most in more than 18 months in November, keeping inventories balanced.

Initial claims for state jobless benefits increased 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 371,000. The prior week’s figure was revised to show 5,000 fewer applications than previously reported.

Jobless claims tend to be volatile this time of year because of the holidays and seasonal layoffs, making it difficult to get a clear picture of the labor market’s health.

While unemployment claims increased last week, there was nothing in the data to suggest a deterioration in labor market conditions.

“Jobless claims data continue to suggest steady but modest U.S. employment gains,” said Robert Kavcic, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets.

The four-week moving average for new claims, a better measure of labor market trends, increased 6,750 to 365,750, still at a level consistent with steady job gains.

A Labor Department analyst said that there was nothing unusual in state-level jobless claims data and that no states had been estimated. He noted, however, that jobless claims on an unadjusted basis tend to peak in the second week of January and the rise in the week ended Jan. 5 was a buildup to that.

Economists said it would take several more weeks before the data were free of seasonal distortions.

The labor market has been gradually improving, with job gains last year averaging 153,000 a month, little changed from 2011. That has not been enough to significantly cut the unemployment rate, which ended the year at 7.8 percent.

A separate report from the Commerce Department showed that sales at wholesalers rebounded 2.3 percent in November, the largest gain since March 2011, after falling 0.9 percent in October.

Wholesale inventories rose 0.6 percent after advancing 0.3 percent in October.

Inventories are a critical component of gross domestic product changes and accounted for almost a quarter of the economy’s annual 3.1 percent growth rate in the third quarter.

Economists expect a drawdown on inventories in the fourth quarter, which would be a drag on growth. They largely left their G.D.P. forecasts, ranging from 0.5 percent to 2.9 percent, unchanged after the wholesale inventory data.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/11/business/economy/jobless-benefits-claims-rise.html?partner=rss&emc=rss