U.S. jobless claims unchanged at 370,000 (by Jeffry Bartash)

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The number of Americans who filed requests for jobless benefits was unchanged last week at 370,000, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday. Claims from two weeks ago were revised up to 370,000 from an initial reading 367,000. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had projected claims would fall to 365,000 on seasonally adjusted basis in the week ended May 12. The average of new claims over the past four weeks, meanwhile, fell by 4,750 to 375,000. Continuing claims increased by 18,000 to a seasonally adjusted 3.27 million in the week ended May 5. Continuing claims are reported with a one-week lag. About 6.27 million people received some kind of state or federal benefit in the week ended April 28, down 149,759 from the prior week. Total claims are reported with a two-week lag.