Initial U.S. jobless claims increased 6,000 to 371,000 for the week ended May 10 -- slightly above the consensus estimate, the U.S. Labor Department announced Thursday. Claims for the previous week remained at 367,000.

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News had expected this week's initial jobless claims to total 370,000.

Also, the 4-week moving average decreased 1,000 to 367,000. Economists view the 4-week average as a better indicator of unemployment conditions, as it smooths-out anomalies for strikes, holidays, or other idiosyncratic events.

Economist Peter Dawson said this week's job report "shows that labor conditions continued to soften. We're seeing little to no evidence that small or large companies have picked-up their hiring pace."

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending May 3 were in: New York, +11,414, Pennsylvania, +2,716, Wisconsin, +1,023, Virginia, +784, and Illinois, +781. The largest decreases were in: Massachusetts, -5,027, New Jersey, -3,259, Georgia, -2,935, Oregon, -2,011, and Michigan, -1,939.

Meanwhile, the number of continuing claims increased by 28,000 to 3.060 million from a revised 3.032 million for the week ended May 3, the latest period for which figures were available.

Economic Analysis: Yet another poor weekly jobless report. Weekly claims were above the consensus estimate, and the 4-week moving average is still at an elevated level, and above the U.S. Federal Reserve's 'danger level' of 350,000. Further, the continuing claims total remains over 3 million -- an indication of a soft job market. That statistic, combined with an elevated 4-week average, indicates that labor market conditions are not improving -- a decided negative for the U.S. economy.