NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The number of people filing for unemployment benefits rose last week, according to a government report Thursday, coming in slightly above estimates.

The Labor Department reported 326,000 initial claims for the week ended Nov. 5, up from a revised 324,000 the week prior. Economists had said 320,000 people would file for unemployment, according to Briefing.com.

There were about 15,000 new jobless claims related to hurricanes Katrina and Rita last week, bringing the Gulf Coast storms' cumulative unadjusted impact to 535,000 claims, a Labor Department analyst said.

Hurricane Wilma, which struck Florida late last month, triggered about 6,000 unadjusted claims last week for a running total of 7,400 claims since the storm hit.

The four-week moving average of claims, considered a clearer signal of the U.S. labor market because it flattens weekly volatility, declined for a fifth straight week to 334,250 last week from 350,500 the prior week.

The number of people continuing to seek benefits after receiving a week of assistance rose by 23,000 to 2.82 million in the week ended Oct. 29, the latest period for which data are available.

-- from staff and wire reports.

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