The number of people seeking unemployment benefits last week was above 300,000 for the first time in three months.
313,000 people filed claims last week, an increase of 21,000, according to the Labor Department. The four-week average rose to 294,000.
Some of the rise can be attributed to layoffs in industries affected by cold weather, according to the Associated Press. The Labor Department tries to adjust, however, for seasonal layoffs.
Other economic indicators show signs of improvement.
The economy has added an average of 229,000 jobs a month in 2014, up from 194,000 a month in 2013, and the unemployment rate is 5.8 percent, down from 7.2 percent last year.
The Commerce Department revised third quarter real gross domestic product growth up to 3.9 percent earlier in November.
