The U.S. four-week moving average of initial claims for unemployment insurance rose by 3,000 in the week ended April 26 to 320,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 317,000, according to seasonally adjusted numbers released today by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The four-week moving average decreases the volatility of the weekly numbers. Total initial claims for unemployment insurance for the week rose by 14,000 to a total of 344,000 from the previous week’s upwardly revised figure of 330,000.

MarketWatch reports the gain came as a surprise, as the consensus forecast of Wall Street economists was for claims to fall to 320,000.