How states fared on unemployment benefit claims

The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid rose last week, though the job market has been improving the past few months.

Applications last week increased by 16,000 to a seasonally adjusted 357,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, rose to 343,000, not much more than the five-year low of 340,750 reported the previous week. Claims are a proxy for layoffs, and they’ve come down steadily since November.