WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- The number of U.S. initial jobless claims rose significantly last week, according to a report released by the U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday.

In the week ending Dec. 29, the number of people filing for U.S. unemployment benefits rose by 10,000 from the previous week's revised figure to 231,000, said the report.

The previous week's reading was revised up by 5,000 from 216,000 to 221,000, according to the report.

The number hit a four-week high amid the federal government shutdown, but remained below the 300,000 threshold, which signals a tight labor market.

The reading was 202,000 in mid-September 2018, representing the lowest level since December 1969.

The report also showed that the four-week average of initial claims decreased by 500 to 218,750 last week, as the previous week's four-week average was revised up by 1,250 from 218,000 to 219,250.

For the whole picture of the job market, the U.S. economy added 155,000 jobs in November with the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.7 percent, the lowest level in almost five decades, the department said on Dec. 7, 2018.

The department will release the unemployment rate for December 2018 on Friday.

As the unemployment rate remained at a low level, the U.S. Federal Reserve raised short-term interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point in December 2018, but signaled a slower pace of rate hikes in 2019 as U.S. economic growth is expected to slow down. Enditem

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