Jan. 30 (Bloomberg) — Applications for unemployment benefits in the United States rose more than forecast last week to the highest level in more than a month, partly reversing a post- holiday slump.

Jobless claims climbed by 19,000 to 348,000 in the period ended Jan. 25, which included the Martin Luther King holiday, Labor Department data showed today in Washington. The reading was the highest since mid-December. The median forecast of 55 economists surveyed by Bloomberg projected 330,000.

Claims are sometimes difficult to seasonally adjust during holiday weeks, although a Labor Department spokesman said there was nothing unusual in the data. Federal Reserve policy makers said yesterday that while labor market data since the end of last year have been "mixed," there are signs of improvement.

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