Unemployment filings show weak jobs picture

About 414,000 Americans filed for their first week of unemployment benefits last week, showing hiring remains weak.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- More Americans filed for their first week of unemployment benefits last week, reflecting continued weakness in the job market.

The number of first-time filers for unemployment benefits rose to 414,000 in the week ended Sept. 3, the Labor Department said Thursday. The number was up 2,000 from a revised 412,000 the week before.

"It's just more of the same," said John Canally, investment strategist and economist at LPL Financial. "We're not seeing much hiring, but not any massive layoffs either."

Economists typically say initial claims need to fall below 400,000 to reduce the unemployment rate, and they were expecting claims to hit that level in the latest report.

Jobless claims have remained around or above 400,000 since early April.

Check the unemployment rate in your state

According to the government's monthly jobs report released last week, the national unemployment rate is 9.1%.

Continuing claims -- which include people filing for the second week of benefits or more -- fell by 30,000 to 3.7 million in the week ended Aug. 27, the most recent data available.

The government's weekly unemployment claims report came ahead of a key jobs speech from President Obama scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.