Wall Street Journal (01/31/13) Josh Mitchell; Eric Morath

The number of people who filed new applications for U.S. unemployment benefits climbed 38,000 to a seasonally adjusted 368,000 in the week ended Jan. 26, putting them at a one-month high, according to data released today by the U.S. Department of Labor. The overall level still signaled a slowly growing labor market. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires forecast 365,000 new applications for jobless benefits last week. Claims still remained below the 400,000 level, which many economists view as the threshold between a labor market that is improving or deteriorating. The four-week moving average edged up by 250 to 352,000.