WASHINGTON, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- The number of initial jobless claims in the United States rose last week, according to a report released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Thursday.

The number of people filing for U.S. unemployment benefits increased by 4,000 to 210,000 from the previous week's revised figure in the week ending Feb. 15, according to the bureau.

Meanwhile, the previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 205,000 to 206,000, the bureau noted.

The report also showed that the four-week moving average of initial claims, a method to iron out data volatility, decreased by 3,250 to 209,000. Besides, the previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 212,000 to 212,250, said the bureau.

As an important leading indicator to reflect unemployment status in the United States, a lower reading in jobless claims indicates lower overall layoffs. The reading of jobless claims remained below the 300,000 threshold, signaling a tight labor market in the United States.

For the bigger picture of the U.S. labor market, U.S. employers added 225,000 jobs in January, and the unemployment rate edged up to 3.6 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Feb. 7.