Initial jobless claims rose 277,000 last week, according to the Department of Labor.

Economists had estimated that the number of first-time claims filed for unemployment insurance totaled 271,000 last week, compared to 267,000 in the prior week.

The four-week moving average fell 1,000 to 270,750. The number of people receiving jobless benefits was 2.19 million.

No special factors were reported in this report, and claims remain near the lowest levels in a decade.

"So far, we see no evidence that employers are reacting to the drop in stock prices by trimming their workforces, and the picture from the hiring side of the payroll equation looks solid too, with the exception of manufacturing," wrote Pantheon Macroeconomics' Ian Shepherdson in a note to clients.

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