The government said Thursday that the number of people filing first-time jobless benefits rose last week while its revised reading on the first quarter economy was slightly better than expected.

On the unemployment front, the Labor Department says new jobless claims rose by 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 627,000, partly because of layoffs related to the end of the school year. Economists expected a drop to 600,000 claims, according to Thomson Reuters.

A department analyst said that states reported more claims than expected from teachers, cafeteria workers and other school employees.

The number of people continuing to receive unemployment insurance rose by 29,000 to 6.74 million, slightly above analysts’ estimates of 6.7 million.

The four-week average of claims, which smoothes out fluctuations, was largely unchanged, at 616,750.

Economists expect the number of initial unemployment insurance claims, which reflects the level of layoffs, to slowly decline over the coming months as the economy bottoms out.

Still, claims remain far above levels associated with a healthy economy. A year ago they were 392,000.

Millions of Americans also are receiving jobless benefits through a federal extension enacted by Congress last year. For the week ending June 6, more than 2.4 million people received benefits under the extension, which adds 20 to 33 weeks on top of the 26 weeks typically provided by states.

About 288,000 people also are receiving benefits under state emergency programs, bringing the total jobless benefit rolls to nearly 8.8 million that week. The extended benefits data lags initial claims by two weeks.

On the economy front, the Commerce Department said the economy declined at a 5.5 percent annual pace in the first quarter.

The revised reading on gross domestic product shows the economy from January through March did not fall as deeply as the 5.7 percent annualized decline reported a month ago.

Economists were predicting the government would stick with its previous estimate.

The main forces behind the small upgrade: businesses did not cut stockpiles of goods as much and imports dropped more sharply than previously estimated.

The rebound in consumer spending was a little less energetic.

Consumers bolstered their spending at a 1.4 percent growth rate, down from 1.5 percent estimated last month. Still, it marked the strongest showing in nearly two years and a huge improvement from the fourth quarter when skittish consumers cut spending by the most in nearly three decades.

All told, the report showed the economic damage inflicted by the recession, the longest since World War II. The worst financial crisis since the 1930s, a housing bust and hard-to-get credit have eaten into businesses’ sales and profits, forcing them to cut back production and jobs. In the final quarter of last year, the economy plunged at a 6.3 percent annualized pace, the most in a quarter-century.

Many analysts believe the economy is not sinking nearly as much now as the recession eases it grip on the country. (AP)