In the week ended May 4, the Labor Department reported weekly unemployment claims hit 231,000, an increase of 22,000 from the previous week and the highest number of jobless claims since August at 234,000.
The report also found that the four-week moving average increased by 4,750 to 215,000 unemployment claims.
The states with the highest insured unemployment claims were California at 44,142, New York at 23,373 and Texas at 15,573.