Nov. 15 (Bloomberg) -- The number of Americans filing first- time claims for unemployment benefits increased more than forecast last week, signaling the U.S. job market is slowing.

Initial jobless claims rose by 20,000 to 339,000 in the week ended Nov. 10, from a revised 319,000 the prior week, the Labor Department said today in Washington. The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, held at 330,000.

Companies may be paring staff to reduce costs as the deepening slump in housing and restrictions on credit limit economic growth, economists said. Smaller gains in jobs and wages raise concern that consumer spending, which accounts for more than two thirds of the economy, may cool even more.

``The labor market is softening,'' Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist at Maria Fiorini Ramirez Inc. in New York, said before the report. Claims are ``going to drift a little bit higher.''

A Labor Department spokesman said there was ``anecdotal'' evidence of job losses associated with the strike by movie and television writers that may affect the claims figures. Still, it would take more time for the government to be able to quantify the impact, if any, he said.

Just under 2,000 claims last week were associated with the California wild fires, he also said.

Economists forecast claims would rise to 320,000 from an initially reported 317,000 the week before, according to the median of 39 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. Projections ranged from 280,000 to 340,000.

Continuing Claims

The number of people continuing to collect state unemployment benefits fell to 2.568 million in the week that ended Nov. 3, from 2.575 million the prior week. The unemployment rate among people eligible for benefits, which tends to track the U.S. jobless rate, held at 1.9 percent.

Thirty-six states and territories showed an increase in new claims, while 17 reported a decrease, today's report showed. These data are reported with a one-week lag.

Initial jobless claims reflect weekly firings and tend to rise as job growth -- measured by the monthly non-farm payrolls report -- soften. So far this year, weekly claims have averaged 319,000, compared with 313,000 for all of 2006.

Economists expect consumer spending to slow this quarter, hurt by weakness in housing, higher energy prices and fewer jobs. Retail sales in October increased 0.2 percent, less than in September, the Commerce Department said yesterday.

WCI Communities Inc., the Florida homebuilder whose chairman is billionaire investor Carl Icahn, said Nov. 7 it plans to fire about a quarter of its workforce as demand for homes tumbles. In addition, six members of WCI's board, including Icahn, agreed not to be paid for the rest of 2007 and all of 2008 and two other board members will receive reduced compensation.

Striking workers, such as the movie and television writers, don't usually qualify to file jobless claims. Still, the walkout, which shut down production of many television shows, may lead to layoffs of supporting staff and crews, according to staffing firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Those workers would be eligible to file claims.

To contact the reporter on this story: Courtney Schlisserman in Washington cschlisserma@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 15, 2007 08:40 EST