Jobless claims hold at a high level

The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits last week edged off a 26-year high, but was higher than expected, according to a government report released Thursday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New claims for unemployment benefit

New claims for US unemployment benefits held steady last week, the government said Thursday in a report showing the ailing labor market is slowly improving.Initial jobless claims totaled 351,000 in the week ending February 18, unchanged from the prior week's figure, which was revised from the original estimate of 348,000, the Labor Department said.In a fresh sign of improvement, the four-week moving average of initial jobless claims, which helps smooth out volatility in the weekly numbers, fell by 7,000 to 359,000.