WASHINGTON, March 13: The ranks of US workers lining up for first-time jobless benefits thinned a bit last week but remained at levels suggesting a still stagnant labour market, a government report on Thursday showed.

At the same time, the number of unemployed workers who continued to file for benefits after making an initial claim rose to its highest level in 3-1/2 months, the Labour Department said.

Initial claims for unemployment aid fell 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 420,000 for the week ended March 8 from a revised 435,000 a week earlier, the department said.

The report was in line with expectations on Wall Street. Economists polled by Reuters had looked for claims to drop to 419,000 from the 430,000 originally reported for the week ended March 1, a week in which claims were inflated by workers that had been impacted by winter storms.

Economists say first-time filings above the 400,000 level are a sign of a lacklustre jobs market.

The four-week average — considered a more reliable guide to the health of the jobs market because it smooths weekly volatility — rose 9,750 to 419,750, the department said.

The department said the number of unemployed workers who remained on the benefit rolls after filing an initial claim rose to the highest level since mid-November in the week ended March 1, the latest week for which figures are available.

These so-called continued claims climbed by 14,000 to 3.50 million.

A report last Friday that showed US non-farm payrolls shed a stunning 308,000 workers last month had raised concerns about the frailty of the US economic recovery and the latest data on jobless claims added evidence that the labour market is ailing.—Reuters