12:27 PM EST, 01/23/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Weekly applications for unemployment insurance in the US rose more than expected last week, while continuing claims reached their highest level since November 2021, government data showed Thursday.

The seasonally adjusted number of initial claims increased by 6,000 to 223,000 in the week ended Jan. 18, according to the Department of Labor. The consensus was for an increase to a 220,000 level in a survey of analysts compiled by Bloomberg. The previous week's reading was left unrevised at 217,000.

The four-week moving average came in at 213,500, up by 750 from the previous week's unrevised average. Weekly unadjusted claims slid by 68,135 to 284,222.

"A rise in claims in California that may reflect the recent fires led an increase in initial jobless claims in the week ended Jan. 18, but claims remain at levels consistent with relatively few layoffs," Oxford Economics Lead US Economist Nancy Vanden Houten said in remarks emailed to MT Newswires.

Since earlier this month, destructive wildfires in southern California have caused substantial damage in the region. Insured losses from the Palisades and Eaton fires will likely be close to $28 billion, catastrophe risk modelling firm Karen Clark & Co. said Thursday.

For the week ended Jan. 11, seasonally adjusted continuing claims totaled nearly 1.9 million, its highest level since Nov. 13, 2021, compared with the Bloomberg consensus of 1.87 million. Continuing claims jumped by 46,000 from the prior week's level, which was revised down by 6,000. The four-week moving average came in at 1.87 million, increasing by 500 from the prior week's downwardly revised average, according to the DOL.

"Continued jobless claims, meanwhile, are still somewhat elevated as a slow pace of hiring continues to make it difficult for unemployed workers to find new jobs," according to Vanden Houten.