The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits rose marginally last week, but Hurricane Helene's rampage in the U.S. Southeast and strikes at Boeing and ports could distort the labor market picture in the near term.

Initial Jobless Claims for the week ended Sept. 28 rose 6K to 225K vs. 221K consensus and 219K in the previous week (revised from 218K), the U.S. Department of Labor said Thursday. The four-week moving average was 224,

The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits dropped to a four-month low last week, suggesting that the labor market remained fairly healthy. The upbeat outlook on the economy was underscored by other data on Thursday showing corporate profits increased at a more robust pace than initially thought in the second quarter.