Summary Box: More file for unemployment benefits

APPLICATIONS RISE: More people applied for unemployment benefits last week, the first increase in three weeks. Applications rose by 27,000 to 412,000.

BROADER TREND: The four-week average of applications, a less volatile measure, has dropped about 6 percent over the past two months.

MORE HIRING: The unemployment rate fell to 8.8 percent in March and has dropped a full percentage point since November. Companies also have added more than 200,000 jobs in March for the second straight month, the first time that has happened since 2006