June 26 (Bloomberg) -- More Americans than forecast filed first-time applications for unemployment benefits last week, indicating the labor market is weakening further.

Initial jobless claims totaled 384,000 in the week ended June 21, unchanged from the previous week's tally that was higher than previously estimated, the Labor Department said today in Washington. The total number of people collecting benefits rose by 82,000 to 3.139 million in the week ended June 14, the highest since February 2004.

U.S. companies are reacting to the economic slowdown by restricting hiring instead of making deep cuts to their workforces. Even so, higher food and energy costs, the housing slump and fewer new jobs all weigh on consumer confidence and spending, the largest part of the economy.

``The environment for hiring remains restrictive,'' said Ryan Sweet, an economist at Moody's Economy.com in West Chester, Pennsylvania, who forecast 385,000 initial claims. ``Businesses are very cautious in their hiring plans because of the uncertainty in the U.S. economy and the global economy as well.''

A separate report today showed the U.S. economy expanded at an annual rate of 1 percent in the first quarter, capping the weakest six months of growth in five years. The Commerce Department's estimate was higher than the 0.9 percent rate it previously reported.

Economists' Forecasts

Economists had forecast claims would fall to 375,000, from a previously reported 381,000 a week earlier, according to the median of 37 projections in a Bloomberg News survey. Estimates ranged from 370,000 to 388,000.

The four-week moving average for initial claims, a less volatile measure of the labor market, increased to 378,250 from 376,000.

The unemployment rate among people eligible for benefits, which tends to track the U.S. jobless rate, rose to 2.4 percent from 2.3 percent. Fifteen states and territories reported an increase in new claims, while 38 had a decrease. These data are reported with a one-week lag.

Last week's applications for benefits included 4,000 filed by people thrown out of work by floods in Iowa, a Labor Department spokesman said.

Weekly claims have averaged 361,000 so far this year, compared with an average of 321,000 in 2007, when the economy generated 91,000 new jobs each month on average.

Payrolls Fall

The U.S. lost 49,000 jobs in May, when the unemployment rate rose to 5.5 percent, the government said on June 6. It was the fifth straight month with a drop in payrolls and the biggest jump in the jobless rate in more than two decades. The next jobs report is due July 3.

Unemployment claims figures so far aren't matching the losses seen in previous economic downturns. During the last recession, in 2001, about 415,000 workers on average filed jobless claims each week.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and other central bank policy makers said yesterday that while the economy continues to grow, ``labor markets have softened further.'' The Fed decided to leave its benchmark interest rate at 2 percent, ending a series of rate cuts, because inflation risks ``have increased.''

Concern over job prospects was reflected in a report this week from the New York-based Conference Board, a private research group. Its survey found that the share of consumers who said jobs are plentiful dropped to 14.1 percent from 16.1 percent in May, and those saying jobs are hard to get increased to 30.5 percent from 28.3 percent.

Higher food and energy prices combined with slower consumer spending have led some companies to trim staff. UAL Corp.'s United Airlines, the world's second-largest carrier, this week said it will lay off 950 pilots to save on fuel costs.

``We must take the difficult but necessary step to reduce the number of people we have to run our operation,'' airline spokeswoman Megan McCarthy said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Timothy R. Homan in Washington at thoman1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 26, 2008 09:08 EDT