THE number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week, pointing to moderate job growth despite slowing economic activity.

Initial claims for state jobless benefits shed 11,000 to a seasonally adjusted 346,000, the US Labor Department said yesterday. Claims for the prior week were revised to show 3,000 more applications received than previously reported. Economists polled by Reuters had expected first-time applications to fall to 345,000 last week.

A department analyst said no states had been estimated and there was nothing unusual in the state-level data. Last week's data included the Memorial Day holiday and claims typically fall around this time of the year.

The four-week moving average for new claims, which irons out week-to-week volatility, rose 4,500 to 352,500.

Although claims have been volatile in recent weeks, there is little in the numbers to suggest a shift in the moderate pace of job gains, even though the broader economy is struggling under the weight of higher taxes and deep government spending cuts.

Last week's data have no bearing on figures the government will release today on employment in May, given that they fall outside of the survey period for the monthly jobs tally.

Employers are forecast to have added 170,000 jobs to their payrolls last month, slightly up from April's 165,000 count, according to a Reuters survey of economists. The jobless rate is seen holding at an almost four-and-a-half-year low of 7.5 percent.