Reuters/Jason Reed
Mervin Sealy from Hickory, North Carolina, takes part in a protest rally outside the Capitol Building in Washington, October 5, 2011. Demonstrators were demanding that Congress create jobs, not make budget cuts during the protest.
Claims ticked up by 3,000 to 254,000 from last week's revised level.
Meanwhile, economists had been expecting an increase to 260,000.
This marks the 82nd straight week that claims haven't risen about 300,000 - the longest streak since 1970.